Article
Environmental Sciences
Guan-Yu Fang, Xing-Quan Liu, Yu-Jian Jiang, Xiao-Jing Mu, Bing-Wen Huang
Summary: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in activated sludge (AS) bacteria poses a potential risk in the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factor genes (VFGs). Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria are the primary classes involved in gene transfer. Mobile genetic elements play a significant role in the transfer of ARGs and VFGs in AS bacteria.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Cecile Philippe, Carlee Morency, Pier-Luc Plante, Edwige Zufferey, Rodrigo Achigar, Denise M. Tremblay, Genevieve M. Rousseau, Adeline Goulet, Sylvain Moineau
Summary: This study reveals that CRISPR-Cas systems in prokaryotic cells can block ACR-containing phages by targeting the acr gene, and this selection process leads to phage mutants that can interfere without acquiring new immunity. This provides an example of ACR specifically inhibiting spacer acquisition.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Xymena Stachurska, Marta Roszak, Joanna Jablonska, Malgorzata Mizielinska, Pawel Nawrotek
Summary: This study tested seven different modifications of the double-layer agar (DLA) method in researching phage-antibiotic synergy (PAS), indicating that the placement of antibiotics and the presence of agar layers can impact the quantity of phage plaques.
Article
Biology
Jorge A. Moura de Sousa, Eduardo P. C. Rocha
Summary: This study reveals the widespread presence of P4-like phage satellites in the genomes of Enterobacterales, especially in Escherichia coli. These elements have an independent evolutionary origin, are scattered across chromosomes, and may have broad host ranges. These findings provide important insights into the molecular evolution of antagonistic interactions between phages and their satellites.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cong Shen, Mengyuan He, Junhua Zhang, Jili Liu, Jianyu Su, Jinxia Dai
Summary: This study examined the impact of breeding cycles and sampling distances on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in chicken manure and surrounding soil. The results showed that both breeding cycles and sampling distances had significant effects on ARGs in chicken manure and soil. Additionally, it was found that antibiotics and heavy metals had a larger influence on ARGs in manure, while mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were more closely related to ARGs in soil.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2023)
Article
Virology
Medhavi Vashisth, Shikha Yashveer, Taruna Anand, Nitin Virmani, Bidhan Chand Bera, Rajesh Kumar Vaid
Summary: Careful selection of specific antibiotics is crucial in combination therapy of bacteriophages and antibiotics, as different antibiotics can have different effects on phage lytic activity. This study found that antibiotics targeting bacterial protein synthesis pathways significantly reduce the lytic activity of bacteriophages, highlighting the importance of screening these compounds before their use in combination treatment.
Article
Microbiology
Abraham G. Moller, Robert A. Petit, Timothy D. Read
Summary: Phage therapy is a potential alternative treatment for Staphylococcus aureus infections. The study found that phage adsorption genes are highly conserved in the S. aureus species, but horizontal gene transfer may play an important role in the strain-specific evolution of host range patterns.
Article
Microbiology
Anna G. Mankovich, Kristen Maciel, Madison Kavanaugh, Erin Kistler, Emily Muckle, Christine L. Weingart
Summary: In this study, a bacteriophage named KP1 was isolated from raw sewage, and it was found to infect Burkholderia cenocepacia. KP1 phage showed significant efficacy in reducing B. cenocepacia populations, especially in the duckweed model. These results suggest that the use of KP1 phage may be a potential strategy for treating B. cenocepacia infections, either alone or in combination with antibiotics.
Review
Infectious Diseases
Addisu D. Teklemariam, Rashad R. Al-Hindi, Ishtiaq Qadri, Mona G. Alharbi, Wafaa S. Ramadan, Jumaa Ayubu, Ahmed M. Al-Hejin, Raghad F. Hakim, Fanar F. Hakim, Rahad F. Hakim, Loojen I. Alseraihi, Turki Alamri, Steve Harakeh
Summary: Bacteria and their predator bacteriophages engage in an ongoing arms race, employing various defense strategies. The bacterial immune arsenal towards phages is diverse and utilizes different components of the host machinery. These defense mechanisms include restriction-modification, mutations, receptor blocking, competitive inhibitors, extracellular matrix, assembly interference, abortive infection, toxin-antitoxin systems, bacterial retrons, and replication interference. Phages, in turn, develop defense mechanisms with small fitness cost to counteract these bacterial strategies. This review highlights the major bacterial defense systems and phage counterstrategies, suggesting potential research directions.
Review
Immunology
Israa M. Abd-Allah, Ghadir S. El-Housseiny, Ibrahim S. Yahia, Khaled M. Aboshanab, Nadia A. Hassouna
Summary: Bacteriophage is a promising alternative to antibiotics, capable of disrupting bacterial cells and outperforming traditional antibiotics in multiple aspects. However, challenges may arise in its practical application. Research on bacteriophage pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and genetic engineering is currently a key focus.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hao Zheng, Nianlin Feng, Tianning Yang, Mei Shi, Xiao Wang, Qian Zhang, Jian Zhao, Fengmin Li, Ke Sun, Baoshan Xing
Summary: The study found that the individual and combined applications of PA450 and BC450 significantly reduced the absolute abundance of ARGs in soil, but the co-application showed little synergistic effect, probably due to the counteractive effect of BC450 on the PA450-mitigated soil ARG proliferation.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Mahadi Hasan, Jirapat Dawan, Juhee Ahn
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the synergistic effect of phage and antibiotic on the induction of collateral sensitivity in Salmonella Typhimurium. The combination of PBST32 and CIP effectively inhibited the growth of STKCCM, showing a significant reduction in bacterial swimming motility. The combination increased the fitness cost and decreased cross-resistance to different classes of antibiotics, indicating its potential for controlling bacterial pathogens.
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ana Garcia-Galan, Eric Baranowski, Marie-Claude Hygonenq, Mathilda Walch, Guillaume Croville, Christine Citti, Christian De la Fe, Laurent-Xavier Nouvel
Summary: This study confirms the occurrence of chromosomal transfer in the wall-less bacteria Mycoplasma bovis, revealing its potential impact on diagnostic and disease control. It provides new insights into the evolution of this pathogenic species and emphasizes the importance of understanding horizontal gene transfer mechanisms in combating bacterial pathogens.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Jana Schwarzerova, Michal Zeman, Vladimir Babak, Katerina Jureckova, Marketa Nykrynova, Margaret Varga, Wolfram Weckwerth, Monika Dolejska, Valentine Provaznik, Ivan Rychlik, Darina Cejkova
Summary: The study proposes an innovative pipeline for detecting horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in gut microbiota and analyzes chicken and porcine gut microbiota. Data mining, computational analysis, and network analysis are used to investigate the genomes of chicken and porcine isolates to detect HGT genes. The pipeline is user-friendly and can identify both characterized and unknown genes involved in HGT.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xingdong Shi, Yu Xia, Wei Wei, Bing-Jie Ni
Summary: This study investigates the role and mechanisms of non-antibiotic chemicals and environmental factors in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The results suggest that the impact of antibiotics has been overestimated, while non-antibiotic chemicals and conditions have important influences on ARG dissemination.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Payton L. Marshall, Nadine Nagy, Gernot Kaber, Graham L. Barlow, Amrit Ramesh, Bryan J. Xie, Miles H. Linde, Naomi L. Haddock, Colin A. Lester, Quynh-Lam Tran, Christiaan R. de Vries, Aviv Hargil, Andrey V. Malkovskiy, Irina Gurevich, Hunter A. Martinez, Hedwich F. Kuipers, Koshika Yadava, Xiangyue Zhang, Stephen P. Evanko, John A. Gebe, Xi Wang, Robert B. Vernon, Carol de la Motte, Thomas N. Wight, Edgar G. Engleman, Sheri M. Krams, Everett H. Meyer, Paul L. Bollyky
Summary: Treatment with 4-methylumbelliferone (4MU) reduces pericellular hyaluronan, disrupts interactions between DC and T-cells, and inhibits T-cell proliferation. 4MU can delay rejection of allogeneic pancreatic islet and cardiac transplants, as well as suppress allogeneic T-cell activation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ricardo Louzada da Silva, Diana M. Elizondo, Nailah Z. D. Brandy, Naomi L. Haddock, Thomas A. Boddie, Lais Lima de Oliveira, Amelia Ribeiro de Jesus, Roque Pacheco de Almeida, Tatiana Rodrigues de Moura, Michael W. Lipscomb
Summary: The study revealed that Leishmania donovani inhibits AIF1 expression in macrophages to block pro-inflammatory responses during infection, leading to increased parasite load. Ectopic overexpression of AIF1 in macrophages provided protection from infection, while inhibiting AIF1 expression in bone marrow cells or monocytes impaired differentiation into functional macrophages. This highlights AIF1 as a critical regulatory component in governing monocyte and macrophage immune functions during parasitic infections and demonstrates how the parasite can suppress this gene as an immune evasion tactic.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Virology
Dan Liu, Jonas D. Van Belleghem, Christiaan R. de Vries, Elizabeth Burgener, Qingquan Chen, Robert Manasherob, Jenny R. Aronson, Derek F. Amanatullah, Pranita D. Tamma, Gina A. Suh
Summary: Phage therapy has garnered renewed interest due to increasing rates of antibiotic resistant bacteria infections. Safety and toxicity data associated with phage therapy in animals and humans have been systematically reviewed from English language publications between 2008-2021. While some adverse events were found in relation to phage therapy, serious events were extremely rare, highlighting the need for structured safety and tolerability endpoints in the therapeutic use of phages. Comprehensive and standardized reporting of potential toxicities associated with phage therapy has generally been lacking in published literature.
Article
Microbiology
Julie D. Pourtois, Michael J. Kratochvil, Qingquan Chen, Naomi L. Haddock, Elizabeth B. Burgener, Giulio A. De Leo, Paul L. Bollyky
Summary: A mathematical model was used to study the competition between Pf+ and Pf- strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in different environments, revealing that the benefits of phage production may not always outweigh the metabolic cost for bacterial fitness. Frequent administration of intermediate doses of antibiotics can favor Pf+ strains over Pf-, suggesting potential treatment strategies for combating antibiotic tolerance.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Michael J. Kratochvil, Gernot Kaber, Sally Demirdjian, Pamela C. Cai, Elizabeth B. Burgener, Nadine Nagy, Graham L. Barlow, Medeea Popescu, Mark R. Nicolls, Michael G. Ozawa, Donald P. Regula, Ana E. Pacheco-Navarro, Samuel Yang, Vinicio A. de Jesus Perez, Harry Karmouty-Quintana, Andrew M. Peters, Bihong Zhao, Maximilian L. Buja, Pamela Y. Johnson, Robert B. Vernon, Thomas N. Wight, Carlos E. Milla, Angela J. Rogers, Andrew J. Spakowitz, Sarah C. Heilshorn, Paul L. Bollyky
Summary: This study characterized the composition and physical properties of respiratory secretions in COVID-19 patients, revealing elevated levels of solids and proteins, similar to those seen in cystic fibrosis. DNA and hyaluronan were major components of COVID-19 secretions and were also abundant in lung tissues. The rheological behaviors of COVID-19 secretions were heterogeneous, and increased HA and DNA were associated with enhanced inflammatory burden. Decreased type I interferon and increased inflammatory cytokines were also observed.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Henry W. Barnes, Sally Demirdjian, Naomi L. Haddock, Gernot Kaber, Hunter A. Martinez, Nadine Nagy, Harry Karmouty-Quintana, Paul L. Bollyky
Summary: This review focuses on the role of hyaluronan (HA) in COVID-19 pathogenesis. It discusses the roles of HA in inflammation and immunity, in COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), in post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) and COVID-associated fibrosis, and potential therapeutics targeting HA such as the repurposed drug hymecromone.
Article
Oncology
Miles H. Linde, Amy C. Fan, Thomas Koehnke, Aaron C. Trotman-Grant, Sarah F. Gurev, Paul Phan, Feifei Zhao, Naomi L. Haddock, Kevin A. Nuno, Eric J. Gars, Melissa Stafford, Payton L. Marshall, Christopher G. Dove, Ian L. Linde, Niklas Landberg, Lindsay P. Miller, Robbie G. Majzner, Tian Yi Zhang, Ravindra Majeti
Summary: Therapeutic cancer vaccination aims to activate tumor-reactive T cells for recognizing tumor-associated antigens (TAA) and eliminating malignant cells. The study proposes a cancer vaccination approach using myeloid-lineage reprogramming to convert cancer cells into tumor-reprogrammed antigen-presenting cells (TR-APC). The results demonstrate the effectiveness of TR-APCs in inducing clonal expansion of cancer-specific T cells, establishing immune memory, and promoting leukemia eradication.
Article
Microbiology
Naomi L. Haddock, Layla J. Barkal, Nikhil Ram-Mohan, Gernot Kaber, Charles Y. Chiu, Ami S. Bhatt, Samuel Yang, Paul L. Bollyky
Summary: This study found that bacterial infections release bacteriophage DNA fragments in plasma, which can be used to identify the types and strains of pathogenic bacteria. Additionally, phage sequences can differentiate between pathogenic and contaminant strains of bacterial species such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, phage DNA in plasma is of great importance in studying bacterial infections.
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
N. L. Haddock, L. J. Barkal, P. L. Bollyky
Summary: Bacteriophages are abundant at sites of bacterial colonization, but their ecology at sites of active infection remains unclear. In this study, we investigated bacteriophage populations in cell-free DNA collected from infection sites and found that phages reflect the relative abundance of their bacterial hosts at these sites. These findings may have implications for future investigative and diagnostic approaches utilizing phages and bacterial cell-free DNA.
Article
Cell Biology
Michelle S. Bach, Christiaan R. de Vries, Arya Khosravi, Johanna M. Sweere, Medeea C. Popescu, Qingquan Chen, Sally Demirdjian, Aviv Hargil, Jonas D. Van Belleghem, Gernot Kaber, Maryam Hajfathalian, Elizabeth B. Burgener, Dan Liu, Quynh-Lam Tran, Tejas Dharmaraj, Maria Birukova, Vivekananda Sunkari, Swathi Balaji, Nandini Ghosh, Shomita S. Mathew-Steiner, Mohamed S. El Masry, Sundeep G. Keswani, Niaz Banaei, Laurence Nedelec, Chandan K. Sen, Venita Chandra, Patrick R. Secor, Gina A. Suh, Paul L. Bollyky
Summary: This study reveals that a bacteriophage called Pf, produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, delays healing of chronic wounds by inhibiting the migration of keratinocytes, which is essential for wound closure. The presence of Pf-positive strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in chronic wounds is associated with a higher likelihood of wound progression. These findings suggest that Pf may serve as a biomarker and potential therapeutic target for chronic wounds.
CELL REPORTS MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Joelle Rosser, Nadine Nagy, Riya Goel, Gernot Kaber, Sally Demirdjian, Jamie Saxena, Jennifer B. Bollyky, Adam R. Frymoyer, Ana E. Pacheco-Navarro, Elizabeth B. Burgener, Jayakumar Rajadas, Zhe Wang, Olga Arbach, Colleen E. Dunn, Anissa Kalinowski, Carlos E. Milla, Paul L. Bollyky
Summary: This study investigates the inhibitory effect of the oral drug hymecromone on hyaluronan (HA) synthesis in humans. The results demonstrate a significant reduction in sputum HA levels after oral hymecromone treatment in healthy individuals, suggesting its potential in the treatment of pulmonary diseases related to HA.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Respiratory System
Elizabeth Burgener, Laura Rojas Hernandez, Paul Bollyky, Carlos Milla
EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL
(2021)
