Article
Immunology
Vaishali Kaushik, Saroj Sharma, Monalisa Tiwari, Vishvanath Tiwari
Summary: This article provides a detailed explanation of the molecular mechanisms and strategies of bacterial persistence, including toxin-antitoxin modules, DNA damage, and the formation of inactive ribosomal complexes. It also covers the epigenetic memory of persistence in bacteria and anti-persistent therapeutics to reduce persister cell formation and control their frequency.
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Annabel S. Lemma, Mark P. Brynildsen
Summary: Toxins have the capacity to increase antibiotic tolerance by inhibiting bacterial growth, even after antibiotic treatment concludes. This study shows that toxins can influence bacterial survival during the recovery period following antibiotic treatment, highlighting the importance of postantibiotic physiology on bacterial survival. Chemical inhibition of growth post-treatment also produces similar effects as toxin-induced inhibition.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaozhou Pan, Wenxin Liu, Qingqing Du, Hong Zhang, Dingding Han
Summary: Bacterial persisters, a subpopulation of bacteria that can evade antibiotic treatment through various mechanisms, play a crucial role in the recurrence of bacterial infectious diseases. Innovative combinations of microfluidics, high-throughput sequencing, and microscopy techniques have enabled the exploration of persister formation and maintenance at the single-cell level.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Alisa Rizvanovic, Charlotte Michaux, Margherita Panza, Zeynep Iloglu, Sophie Helaine, E. Gerhart H. Wagner, Erik Holmqvist
Summary: Bacteria can avoid antibiotic eradication by forming persister cells through phenotypic heterogeneity. The RNA-binding protein ProQ has been identified as a global regulator of gene expression that promotes persister formation in Salmonella. ProQ activates energy-consuming processes and allows Salmonella to survive in macrophages.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Young Nam Yang, Thi Thuy Linh Le, Ji-Hye Hwang, Ismayil S. Zulfugarov, Eun-Ha Kim, Hyun Uk Kim, Jong-Seong Jeon, Dong-Hee Lee, Choon-Hwan Lee
Summary: The PsbS protein plays a role in regulating the recovery processes of electron transport and photochemical quenching during long-term high light acclimation by maintaining the expression of plastoquinone biosynthetic genes and enhancing ROS homeostasis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Katia Ospino, Beny Spira
Summary: This study investigated the effects of glyphosate on the resistance, tolerance, or persistence of bacteria towards antibiotics, as well as the role of (p)ppGpp in this process. The results showed that glyphosate did not affect the minimum inhibitory concentration of tested antibiotics, but it enhanced bacterial tolerance and/or persistence towards them. The increase in ciprofloxacin and kanamycin tolerance was partially dependent on the presence of relA, while the strong increase in ampicillin tolerance caused by glyphosate was independent of relA. The study concluded that glyphosate contributes to the temporary increase in E. coli tolerance or persistence by inducing aromatic amino acid starvation, but does not affect antibiotic resistance.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Celien Bollen, Elen Louwagie, Natalie Verstraeten, Jan Michiels, Philip Ruelens
Summary: Recalcitrant infections are difficult to treat and contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance, posing a significant challenge to successful bacterial infection treatment. Antibiotic persistence, which involves the survival of transiently tolerant subpopulations of bacteria, is a potential contributing factor in persistent infections. This review discusses the clinical significance of antibiotic persistence, as well as the environmental and evolutionary factors involved, highlighting the multifaceted nature of persistence.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Badri Nath Dubey, Viktoriya Shyp, Geoffrey Fucile, Holger Sondermann, Urs Jenal, Tilman Schirmer
Summary: The effector protein SmbA from Caulobacter crescentus is jointly targeted by signaling molecules c-di-GMP and (p)ppGpp, and the crystal structure of SmbA in complex with c-di-GMP has been determined, revealing the importance of loop 7 in c-di-GMP dimerization and downstream signaling.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yucui Zhao, Tingting Lu, Yanwei Song, Yanqin Wen, Zheng Deng, Jiahui Fan, Minghui Zhao, Ruyi Zhao, Yuntao Luo, Jianzhu Xie, Binjie Hu, Haoran Sun, Yiwei Wang, Sijia He, Yanping Gong, Jin Cheng, Xinjian Liu, Liang Yu, Jikun Li, Chuanyuan Li, Yongyong Shi, Qian Huang
Summary: Cancer cells enter a radiation-tolerant persister state by poly- and de-polyploidization to survive radiotherapy and repopulate the tumor, suggesting a new therapeutic concept to improve outcome of patients receiving radiotherapy.
Article
Plant Sciences
Mina Goto, Akira Oikawa, Shinji Masuda
Summary: The Arabidopsis ppGpp-overproducing mutant shows a larger biomass than wild type under nitrogen-limiting conditions by modulating amino-acid metabolism. The regulatory nucleotide ppGpp controls gene expression and enzyme activities, but the mechanisms behind its influence on plant growth and biomass are still unclear. The accumulation of ppGpp affects amino-acid and protein homeostasis, facilitating growth under nitrogen-limiting conditions.
Article
Immunology
Shruti Kashyap, Sukhvir Kaur, Prince Sharma, Neena Capalash
Summary: The combination of tobramycin and colistin has shown promising results in eradicating persister cells of Acinetobacter baumannii, suggesting a potential strategy for preventing relapse of infections caused by this pathogen.
MICROBES AND INFECTION
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Daniel J. Bennison, Jose A. Nakamoto, Timothy D. Craggs, Pohl Milon, John B. Rafferty, Rebecca M. Corrigan
Summary: During nutrient limitation, bacteria produce (p)ppGpp as effectors of the stringent response. This molecule inhibits the activity of ribosome-associated GTPases, affecting ribosome assembly and bacterial growth, highlighting a major mechanism of stringent response control.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jorge Fernandez-Vazquez, Juan David Cabrer-Panes, Anna Aberg, Antonio Juarez, Cristina Madrid, Tania Gaviria-Cantin, Llorenc Fernandez-Coll, Andres Felipe Vargas-Sinisterra, Carlos Jonay Jimenez, Carlos Balsalobre
Summary: ppGpp is an intracellular sensor that coordinates gene expression in bacteria to adapt and survive under different environmental conditions, including urinary tract infections. It plays a crucial role in regulating the expression of alpha-hemolysin, a toxin that induces cytotoxicity in bladder epithelial cells during infection.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Elyse C. Curry, Ryan G. Hart, Danni Y. Habtu, Neal R. Chamberlain
Summary: This study aimed to identify and partially characterize persistence-inducing factors (PIFs) from staphylococci by measuring optical density to determine when persister numbers increased. Concentrated culture filtrates (CCFs) from S. epidermidis and S. aureus were used to develop a PIF assay, revealing that CCFs from both species could induce persistence.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Ravikumar R. Patel, Prem P. Kandel, Eboni Traverso, Kevin L. Hockett, Lindsay R. Triplett
Summary: This study identifies different metabolic states associated with antibiotic persistence, tailocin persistence, and loss of virulence. It demonstrates that tailocin is highly effective in eliminating dormant cells. Combination treatment was effective in killing both types of persisters. The research will inform the search for mechanisms and markers for each phenotype.