Search results for: VIRULENCE FACTORS
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The New Klebsiella pneumoniae ST152 Variants with Hypermucoviscous Phenotype Isolated from Renal Transplant Recipients with Asymptomatic Bacteriuria-Genetic Characteristics by WGS.
PublicationKlebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) is one of the most important etiological factors of urinary tract infections in renal transplant (RTx) recipients. We described the antimicrobial susceptibility phenotypes and genomic features of two hypermucoviscous (HM) Kp isolates recovered from RTx recipients with asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU). Using whole genome sequencing (WGS) data, we showed that the strains belong to the ST152 lineage with the...
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Identification of antigen Ag43 in uropathogenic Escherichia coli Dr+ strains and defining its role in the pathogenesis of urinary tract infections
PublicationUrinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are among the most common bacterial infectious diseases in the developed world. The urovirulence of UPEC is mainly associated with the surface-exposed fimbrial adhesins and adhesins of the autotransporter (AT) family. The best studied of theses proteins is antigen 43 (Ag43) mediating cell aggregation, adhesion and biofilm development as the causes of...
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Virulence gene profiles in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from cows with subclinical mastitis in eastern Poland
PublicationStaphylococcus aureus is arguably the most important pathogen involved in bovine mastitis. The aim of this study was to determine the virulence gene profiles of 124 Staph. aureus isolates from subclinical mastitis in cows in eastern Poland. The presence of 30 virulence genes encoding adhesins, proteases and superantigenic toxins was investigated by PCR. The 17 different combinations of adhesin genes were identified. Occurrence...
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Lipopolysaccharides: regulated biosynthesis and structural diversity
PublicationThe cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria contains two distinct membranes, an inner (IM) and an outer (OM) membrane, separated by the periplasm, a hydrophilic compartment that includes a thin layer of peptidoglycan. The most distinguishing feature of such bacteria is the presence of an asymmetric OM with phospholipids located in the inner leaflet and lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) facing the outer leaflet. The maintenance of this...
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Urinary Tract Infections Caused by K. pneumoniae in Kidney Transplant Recipients – Epidemiology, Virulence and Antibiotic Resistance
PublicationUrinary tract infections are the most common complication in kidney transplant recipients, possibly resulting in the deterioration of a long-term kidney allograft function and an increased risk of recipient’s death. K. pneumoniae has emerged as one of the most prevalent etiologic agents in the context of recurrent urinary tract infections, especially with multidrug resistant strains. This paper discusses the epidemiology and risk...
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Intra-operative biopsy in chronic sinusitis detects pathogenic Escherichia coli that carry fimG/H, fyuA and agn43 genes coding biofilm formation
PublicationThe aim of this study was to investigate whether or not surgical biopsy of sinus tissue in chronic sinusitis, not responsive to treatment, would detect E. coli. We intended to evaluate E. coli virulence genes, therefore dispute the causal role of such an unusual microorganism in chronic sinusitis, as well as consider effective pathogen-targeted therapy. Patients with E. coli isolated by intra-operative puncture biopsy were included...
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A new assay for simultaneous identification and differentiation of Klebsiella oxytoca strains
PublicationBacterial strain typing, or identifying bacteria at the strain level, is particularly important for diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiological surveillance of bacterial infections. This is especially the case for bacteria exhibiting high levels of antibiotic resistance or virulence, and those involved in nosocomial or pandemic infections. Strain typing also has applications in studying bacterial population dynamics.
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Regulated Control of the Assembly and Diversity of LPS by Noncoding sRNAs
PublicationThe outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria is asymmetric due to the presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) facing the outer leaflet of the OM and phospholipids facing the periplasmic side. LPS is essential for bacterial viability, since it provides a permeability barrier and is a major virulence determinant in pathogenic bacteria. In Escherichia coli, several steps of LPS biosynthesis and assembly are regulated by the RpoE...
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Virulence analysis and antibiotic resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from hospitalised patients in Poland
PublicationKlebsiella pneumoniae (KP) is a nosocomial pathogen causing difficult-to-treat infections. The presence of virulence genes and antibiotic resistance of 109 KP isolates from hospitalized patients were investigated. Among them, 68.8% were multi-drug resistant (MDR) and 59.6% produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs). Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) were produced by 22% of isolates (mainly from anus), including 16.5% of isolates...
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Phenotypic consequences of LYS4 gene disruption in Candida albicans
PublicationA BLAST search of the Candida Genome Database with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae LYS4 sequence known to encode homoaconitase (HA) revealed ORFs 19.3846 and 19.11327. Both alleles of the LYS4 gene were sequentially disrupted in Candida albicans BWP17 cells using PCR-based methodology. The null lys4Δ mutant exhibited lysine auxotrophy in minimal medium but was able to grow in the presence of L-Lys and α-aminoadipate, an intermediate...
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Inhibitors of amino acids biosynthesis as antifungal agents
PublicationFungal microorganisms, including the human pathogenic yeast and filamentous fungi, are able to synthesize all proteinogenic amino acids, including nine that are essential for humans. A number of enzymes catalyzing particular steps of human-essential amino acid biosynthesis are fungi specific. Numerous studies have shown that auxotrophic mutants of human pathogenic fungi impaired in biosynthesis of particular amino acids exhibit...
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Biochemical characteristic of biofilm of uropathogenic Escherichia coli Dr+ strains.
PublicationUrinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli are very common health problem in the developed countries. The virulence of the uropathogenic E. coli Dr+ IH11128 is determined by Dr fimbriae, which are homopolymeric structures composed of DraE subunits with the DraD protein capping the fiber. In this study, we have analyzed the structural and biochemical properties of biofilms developed by E. coli strains expressing Dr fimbriae...
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Regulated Assembly of LPS, Its Structural Alterations and Cellular Response to LPS Defects
PublicationDistinguishing feature of the outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria is its asymmetry due to the presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the outer leaflet of the OM and phospholipids in the inner leaflet. Recent studies have revealed the existence of regulatory controls that ensure a balanced biosynthesis of LPS and phospholipids, both of which are essential for bacterial viability. LPS provides the essential permeability...
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Enzymes of the lysine biosynthetic pathway as targets for antifungals ?
PublicationSystemic infections caused by human pathogenic fungi in immunocompromized patients continue to be one of the important clinical problems. Limited availability of safe and efficacious antifungal chemotherapeutics and emerging resistance to existing drugs stimulates search for novel molecular targets for antifungals. The α-aminoadipate pathway (AAP) of L-lysine biosynthesis is unique in fungi and thus has been so far considered...
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Phenotypic consequences of the LYS4 gene disruption in Candida albicans
PublicationThe main scientific purpose of our studies was to verify the hypothesis that homoaconitase (HA) from Candida albicans, an enzyme catalyzing a second step of the α-aminoadipate pathway (AAP) of L-Lys biosynthesis may become a new target for antifungal chemotherapy. Previous studies indicated that the A. fumigatus mutant lacking the functional lysF gene, encoding HA, exhibited attenuated virulence in a low-dose mouse infection model...
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Genetic Background and Antibiotic Resistance Profiles of K. pneumoniae NDM-1 Strains Isolated from UTI, ABU, and the GI Tract, from One Hospital in Poland, in Relation to Strains Nationally and Worldwide
PublicationIn recent years, there has been an observed increase in infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumonia (Kp) strains. The aim of this study was the phenotypic and genotypic analysis of eight K. pneumoniae NDM (Kp NDM) isolates, recovered in Poland during the years 2016 and 2018 from seven patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs), asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU), or colonization of the gut. PCR melting profile...
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Genotyping Techniques for Determining the Diversity of Microorganisms
PublicationTyping of microbial pathogens, or identifying bacteria at the strain level, is particularly important for diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiological surveillance of bacterial infections. This is especially the case for bacteria exhibiting high levels of antibiotic resistance or virulence, and those involved in nosocomial or pandemic infections. Strain typing also has applications in studying bacterial population dynamics. The part...
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Linezolid-resistant Enterococcus faecium strains isolated from one hospital in Poland –commensals or hospital-adapted pathogens?
PublicationOne of the most pressing problems of enterococci infections is occurring resistance to linezolid, which is an antibiotic used in the treatment of infections caused by vancomycin-resistant strains (VRE). The main objective of our research was to investigate the relationship of 19 linezolid-resistant E. faecium isolates from 18 patients hospitalized at Clinical Hospital in Gdansk (Poland). One of the LZDREF was isolated in 2003...
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Pilicides effectively hinder chaperone-usher interactions in all Gram-negative bacteria
PublicationThe chaperone-usher pathway of adhesive structures biogenesis is highly conserved in all Gram-negative bacteria. Pili are polymers of thousands protein subunits that possess conserved immunoglobuline-like structure denoted by lack of the seventh G strand. The effect of this structural defect is a hydrophobic acceptor cleft. The folding of protein subunits is strictly dependent on the action of specific periplasmic chaperone protein...
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Effect of C-1748 derivatives on the biofilm formation of C. albicans ATCC 10231 cells
Open Research DataThe datasets contain the results of the impact of five C-1748 derivatives (IKE28 - IKE32) on the biofilm formation of Candida albicans strain ATCC 10231 cells. Photographic documentation prepared with the TECAN Spark 10M titration plate reader.