Article
Microbiology
Brandon A. Berryhill, Teresa Gil-Gil, Joshua A. Manuel, Andrew P. Smith, Ellie Margollis, Fernando Baquero, Bruce R. Levin
Summary: MIC is used to measure the susceptibility/resistance of bacteria to antibiotics and for designing treatment regimes. However, MICs are estimated in vitro under optimal conditions that bacteria rarely experience. Using a mathematical model and experiments, we found that MICs estimated in rich media are higher than those in minimal media, antibiotic exposure prolongs bacterial lag phase, and sub-MIC antibiotic concentrations reduce stationary-phase density. These results question the sufficiency of using MIC as the sole pharmacodynamic parameter for therapeutically oriented protocols.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Nikola Ojkic, Diana Serbanescu, Shiladitya Banerjee
Summary: Bacteria can adjust their cell shape to effectively reduce or dilute antibiotics, thus developing resistance. Shape-induced resistance is an important mechanism for bacterial adaptation to antibiotics.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Emily Wood, Hinrich Schulenburg, Philip Rosenstiel, Tobias Bergmiller, Dyan Ankrett, Ivana Gudelj, Robert Beardmore
Summary: The mechanism by which antibiotics regulate population decline in bacteria during periods of low nutrient availability is poorly understood. The study finds that ribosome-binding antibiotics can prolong the lifespan of bacteria, while resistance mechanisms that increase growth rates can be detrimental during nutrient stresses. Ribosomal protection acts as a Trojan horse, providing protection from antibiotics but promoting bacterial demise during nutrient stresses.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Artemis Tsirogianni, Georgia G. Kournoutou, Maria Mpogiatzoglou, George Dinos, Constantinos M. Athanassopoulos
Summary: Our previous study successfully modified the antibiotic chloramphenicol (CHL) by replacing the dichloroacetyl tail with amino acids. In this study, further modifications of CHL were made by linking basic amino acids to CHL through different bonding methods. The results showed that while the antibacterial activity was somewhat reduced, all derivatives were comparable to CHL in in vitro testing. The findings suggest that these new pharmacophores have potential as antimicrobial agents, although further optimization is necessary.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Artemis Tsirogianni, Georgia G. Kournoutou, Anthony Bougas, Eleni Poulou-Sidiropoulou, George Dinos, Constantinos M. Athanassopoulos
Summary: By chemically modifying a known antibiotic, we developed new pharmacophores with high antimicrobial activity, particularly the bis-dichloroacetyl derivative of ornithine. This compound showed the highest antimicrobial activity both in vivo and in vitro, indicating potential for further modification and development.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Vi Ngoc-Nha Tran, Alireza Shams, Sinan Ascioglu, Antal Martinecz, Jingyi Liang, Fabrizio Clarelli, Rafal Mostowy, Ted Cohen, Pia Abel zur Wiesch
Summary: This study extends a mechanistic binding-kinetic model and incorporates clinical drug concentration data to develop a web-based tool that allows non-quantitative scientists to create and visualize computational models of bacterial antibiotic target-binding. The vCOMBAT online tool is publicly available.
BMC BIOINFORMATICS
(2022)
Review
Infectious Diseases
Jinzhou Ye, Xinhai Chen
Summary: Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a major global health challenge. This review compiles the most promising strategies currently under development to tackle antibiotic resistance, including the discovery of novel antibiotics, improvement of existing antibiotics, and the development of alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Clinical or preclinical studies show the great potential of these treatments against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with some products expected to become commercially available soon.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rya Ero, Xin-Fu Yan, Yong-Gui Gao
Summary: Bacteria have developed various mechanisms to resist antibiotics, including resistance mechanisms targeting the ribosome. The increasing number of multidrug-resistant pathogens and lack of novel antibiotics may lead to life-threatening infections, highlighting the importance of understanding ribosome protection proteins. This knowledge has the potential to guide the development of new therapeutic approaches to combat antibiotic resistance.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Victor Barrenechea, Maryhory Vargas-Reyes, Miguel Quiliano, Pohl Milon
Summary: The study revealed that Tig has a stronger stabilization effect on IF1 and can induce a faster compact conformation during translation initiation, leading to translation delay. Different tetracyclines inhibit protein translation initiation and elongation to different extents by affecting IF3 layout and retaining IF1.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Lise Goltermann, Kasper Langebjerg Andersen, Helle Krogh Johansen, Soren Molin, Ruggero La Rosa
Summary: A new mechanism of macrolide resistance caused by ribosomal protein mutations in Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated in this study. The results showed that macrolide antibiotics are still effective against P. aeruginosa and resistance development should be considered in patients receiving prolonged courses of macrolide treatment. Improved macrolide susceptibility testing is necessary for the detection of resistant bacteria.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Philip S. Stewart, Kerry S. Williamson, Laura Boegli, Timothy Hamerly, Ben White, Liam Scott, Xiao Hu, Brendan M. Mumey, Michael J. Franklin, Brian Bothner, Francisco G. Vital-Lopez, Anders Wallqvist, Garth A. James
Summary: No universal genetic or biochemical basis for antibiotic tolerance in biofilms was found in a comparison study of three different bacterial species using transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches. Instead, it is likely that a multitude of genes, proteins, and metabolic pathways influence the physiological state of individual microorganisms in biofilms and contribute to antibiotic tolerance.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
A. Carolin Seefeldt, Javier Aguirre Rivera, Magnus Johansson
Summary: This study investigated the impact of erythromycin on protein synthesis in live bacterial cells by tracking tRNAs. The results showed that erythromycin significantly prolonged the dwell time of tRNA on ribosomes but occurred less frequently, highlighting the complexity of its effect on protein synthesis.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aleksandra Baran, Aleksandra Kwiatkowska, Leszek Potocki
Summary: Despite the development of medicine, antibiotics are still the first choice for patients with infectious disorders. However, the widespread availability and overprescription of antibiotics has led to an increase in multidrug-resistant microbes. Understanding the interaction between antibiotic mechanisms and bacterial defense strategies is crucial for developing new drugs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hendrik Booke, Otto R. Frey, Anka C. Roehr, Ute Chiriac, Kai Zacharowski, Tomas Holubec, Elisabeth H. Adam
Summary: This study evaluated the pharmacokinetics of cefazolin in patients undergoing ECMO treatment and found that cefazolin concentrations varied widely in veno-arterial ECMO patients. Using dosing software would have led to lower but sufficient concentrations of cefazolin.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Shannon M. Collins, Angela C. Brown
Summary: Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) play key roles in pathogenesis by delivering biomolecules to host cells, while also facilitating intra-bacterial communication processes, making them promising antibiotic delivery vehicles.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Bartlomiej Waclaw, Justyna Cholewa-Waclaw, Philip Greulich
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS A-MATHEMATICAL AND THEORETICAL
(2019)
Review
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Rosalind J. Allen, Bartlomiej Waclaw
REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN PHYSICS
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Justyna Cholewa-Waclaw, Ruth Shah, Shaun Webb, Kashyap Chhatbar, Bernard Ramsahoye, Oliver Pusch, Miao Yu, Philip Greulich, Bartlomiej Waclaw, Adrian P. Bird
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Catherine G. Mills, Rosalind J. Allen, Richard A. Blythe
THEORETICAL ECOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Philip Greulich, Ben D. MacArthur, Cristina Parigini, Ruben J. Sanchez-Garcia
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Martin Carballo-Pacheco, Michael D. Nicholson, Elin E. Lilja, Rosalind J. Allen, Bartlomiej Waclaw
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biology
Cristina Parigini, Philip Greulich
Article
Developmental Biology
Philip Greulich, Ben D. MacArthur, Cristina Parigini, Ruben J. Sanchez-Garcia
Summary: The arrangement of cells in tissues forms a lineage hierarchy to regulate tissue turnover. Based on the relationship between cell molecular 'states' and cell 'types', a self-renewing cell type is shown to only reside at the top of the lineage hierarchy in dynamic equilibrium. The property of 'stemness' is entirely determined by the cell environment, supporting the idea that stem cell identities are contextual.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniel Taylor, Nia Verdon, Peter Lomax, Rosalind J. Allen, Simon Titmuss
Summary: In this study, a microfluidic device and imaging protocol were introduced for high-resolution imaging and automatic counting of bacteria within microdroplets. The researchers successfully tracked the stochastic growth of replicate Escherichia coli populations and found that the growth trajectories in early times followed the predictions of the Bellman-Harris model.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Patrick Sinclair, Chris A. Brackley, Martin Carballo-Pacheco, Rosalind J. Allen
Summary: Surface-attached bacterial biofilms can lead to disease and industrial biofouling, and are widespread in natural environments. Quorum sensing is an important mechanism for biofilm initiation. We present and analyze a model that suggests a stochastic transition from loosely attached bacteria near the surface to a growing biofilm.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Liam Barry-Carroll, Philip Greulich, Abigail R. Marshall, Kristoffer Riecken, Boris Fehse, Katharine E. Askew, Kaizhen Li, Olga Garaschuk, David A. Menassa, Diego Gomez-Nicola
Summary: Microglia are derived from the yolk sac and migrate into the brain during early embryonic development. They undergo in situ proliferation and ultimately colonize the entire brain by the third postnatal week in mice. This study reveals that their colonization is facilitated by clonal expansion of highly proliferative microglial progenitors distributed throughout the brain. Additionally, the spatial distribution of microglia changes from clustered to random during development.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ellen Young, Gavin Melaugh, Rosalind J. Allen
Summary: The emergence of spatial organisation in biofilm growth is investigated using individual-based simulations. It is found that the transition from smooth to rough interface morphologies is associated with dynamical changes in the active layer. The fluctuations in the active layer thickness play a central role in controlling the pinning of the biofilm interface and the resulting biofilm morphology.
NPJ BIOFILMS AND MICROBIOMES
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Gavin Melaugh, Vincent A. Martinez, Perrin Baker, Preston J. Hill, P. Lynne Howell, Daniel J. Wozniak, Rosalind J. Allen
Summary: Researchers have found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa forms suspended multicellular aggregates in liquid media, and these aggregates may play important roles in disease and biofilm formation. The polysaccharide Psl and extracellular DNA (eDNA) have been implicated in aggregation, but their roles vary depending on the growth stage of the bacterial cultures. Cell-associated Psl mediates aggregation in exponentially growing cultures, while both eDNA and Psl mediate cohesion in stationary phase cultures. These findings suggest that the properties of multicellular aggregates change throughout the growth cycle of P. aeruginosa.
NPJ BIOFILMS AND MICROBIOMES
(2023)
Review
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Philip Greulich
Summary: This article gives an overview of quantitative modelling approaches in biology and provides guidance on how to use them in stem cell research. It points out that while quantitative modelling can boost biological research, careful considerations need to be taken to avoid pitfalls and understand its limitations.
CURRENT STEM CELL REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Patrick Sinclair, Martin Carballo-Pacheco, Rosalind J. Allen