Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0348321 (Haemophilus)
 15,372 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Bacteria have evolved strategies to resist killing by antimicrobial peptides (APs), important effectors of innate immunity. The sap (sensitivity to antimicrobial peptides) operon confers resistance to AP-mediated killing of Salmonella. We have recently shown that sapA gene expression is upregulated in the middle ear in a chinchilla model of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI)-induced otitis media. Based on these findings, we constructed an NTHI strain containing a Lux reporter plasmid driven by the sapA promoter and demonstrated early yet transient expression of the sap operon within sites of the chinchilla upper airway upon infection. We hypothesized that the sap operon products mediate NTHI resistance to APs. In order to test this hypothesis, we constructed a nonpolar mutation in the sapA gene of NTHI strain 86-028NP, a low-passage-number clinical isolate. The sapA mutant was approximately eightfold more sensitive than the parent strain to killing by recombinant chinchilla beta-defensin 1. We then assessed the ability of this mutant to both colonize and cause otitis media in chinchillas. The sapA mutant was significantly attenuated compared to the parent strain in its ability to survive in both the nasopharynx and the middle ear of the chinchilla. In addition, the mutant was impaired in its ability to compete with the parent strain in a dual-strain challenge model of infection. Our results indicate that the products of the sap operon are important for resisting the activity of APs and may regulate, in part, the balance between normal carriage and disease caused by NTHI.
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PMID:A mutation in the sap operon attenuates survival of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae in a chinchilla model of otitis media. 1561

The treatment of infections caused by bacteria resistant to the vast majority of antibiotics is a challenge worldwide. Antimicrobial peptides (APs) make up the front line of defense in those areas exposed to microorganisms, and there is intensive research to explore their use as new antibacterial agents. On the other hand, it is known that subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics affect the expression of numerous bacterial traits. In this work we evaluated whether treatment of bacteria with subinhibitory concentrations of quinolones may alter the sensitivity to APs. A 1-h treatment of Klebsiella pneumoniae with 0.25 x the MIC of ciprofloxacin rendered bacteria more sensitive to polymyxins B and E, human neutrophil defensin 1, and beta-defensin 1. Levofloxacin and nalidixic acid at 0.25 x the MICs also increased the sensitivity of K. pneumoniae to polymyxin B, whereas gentamicin and ceftazidime at 0.25 x the MICs did not have such an effect. Ciprofloxacin also increased the sensitivities of K. pneumoniae ciprofloxacin-resistant strains to polymyxin B. Two other pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Haemophilus influenzae, also became more sensitive to polymyxins B and E after treatment with 0.25 x the MIC of ciprofloxacin. Incubation with ciprofloxacin did not alter the expression of the K. pneumoniae loci involved in resistance to APs. A 1-N-phenyl-naphthylamine assay showed that ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin increased the permeabilities of the K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa outer membranes, while divalent cations antagonized this action. Finally, we demonstrated that ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin increased the binding of APs to the outer membrane by using dansylated polymyxin B.
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PMID:Quinolones sensitize gram-negative bacteria to antimicrobial peptides. 1680 13