The bacterial serine protease inhibitor ecotin inhibits neutrophil elastase enzymatic activity in cystic fibrosis sputa.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) airway disease is characterized by impaired mucociliary clearance, chronic, polymicrobial infections and robust, neutrophil-dominated inflammation. Pulmonary disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in people with CF and is due to progressive airflow obstruction and ultimately respiratory failure. One of the earliest abnormalities in CF airway disease is the recruitment of neutrophils to the lungs.

A Bacteriophage Protein-Based Impedimetric Electrochemical Biosensor for the Detection of .

is a common foodborne pathogen found in poultry that can cause severe life-threatening illnesses in humans. It is important to detect this pathogen in food to manage foodborne outbreaks. This study reports a novel impedimetric phage protein-based biosensor to detect NCTC 11168 at 100 CFU/mL concentrations using a genetically engineered receptor-binding phage protein, FlaGrab, as a bioreceptor.

uses energy taxis and a dehydrogenase enzyme for l-fucose chemotaxis.

In this study, we identify a separate role for the l-fucose dehydrogenase in l-fucose chemotaxis and demonstrate that this mechanism is not only limited to but is also present in . We now hypothesize that l-fucose energy taxis may contribute to the reduction of l-fucose-metabolizing strains of from the gastrointestinal tract of breastfed infants, selecting for isolates with increased colonization potential.

Post-translational modification by the Pgf glycosylation machinery modulates Streptococcus mutans OMZ175 physiology and virulence.

Streptococcus mutans is commonly associated with dental caries and the ability to form biofilms is essential for its pathogenicity. We recently identified the Pgf glycosylation machinery of S. mutans, responsible for the post-translational modification of the surface-associated adhesins Cnm and WapA.

Involvement of the Streptococcus mutans PgfE and GalE 4-epimerases in protein glycosylation, carbon metabolism, and cell division.

Streptococcus mutans is a key pathogen associated with dental caries and is often implicated in infective endocarditis. This organism forms robust biofilms on tooth surfaces and can use collagen-binding proteins (CBPs) to efficiently colonize collagenous substrates, including dentin and heart valves. One of the best characterized CBPs of S.

Bacterial chemotaxis in human diseases.

To infect and cause disease, bacterial pathogens must localize to specific regions of the host where they possess the metabolic and defensive acumen for survival. Motile flagellated pathogens exercise control over their localization through chemotaxis to direct motility based on the landscape of exogenous nutrients, toxins, and molecular cues sensed within the host. Here, we review advances in understanding the roles chemotaxis plays in human diseases.

Bacterial glycosylation, it's complicated.

Each microbe has the ability to produce a wide variety of sugar structures that includes some combination of glycolipids, glycoproteins, exopolysaccharides and oligosaccharides. For example, bacteria may synthesize lipooligosaccharides or lipopolysaccharides, teichoic and lipoteichoic acids, N- and O-linked glycoproteins, capsular polysaccharides, exopolysaccharides, poly-N-acetylglycosamine polymers, peptidoglycans, osmoregulated periplasmic glucans, trehalose or glycogen, just to name a few of the more broadly distributed carbohydrates that have been studied. The composition of many of these glycans are typically dissimilar from those described in eukaryotes, both in the seemingly endless repertoire of sugars that microbes are capable of synthesizing, and in the unique modifications that are attached to the carbohydrate residues.

Low-Dose Exposure to Ganglioside-Mimicking Bacteria Tolerizes Human Macrophages to Guillain-Barré Syndrome-Associated Antigens.

Early in life, commensal bacteria play a major role in immune development, helping to guide the host response toward harmful stimuli while tolerating harmless antigens to prevent autoimmunity. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune disease caused by errant immune attack of antibody-bound ganglioside receptors on host nerve cells, resulting in paralysis. Lipooligosaccharides enveloping the prevalent enteric pathogen, Campylobacter jejuni, frequently mimic human gangliosides and can trigger GBS by stimulating the autoimmune response.

Detecting Glucose Fluctuations in the N-Glycan Structure.

is a significant cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide, and all strains express an N-glycan that is added to at least 80 different proteins. We characterized 98 isolates from infants from 7 low- and middle-income countries and identified 4 isolates unreactive with our N-glycan-specific antiserum that was raised against the heptasaccharide composed of GalNAc-GalNAc-GalNAc(Glc)-GalNAc-GalNAc-diNAcBac. Mass spectrometric analyses indicated these isolates express a hexasaccharide lacking the glucose branch.

Reduced Infection Efficiency of Phage NCTC 12673 on Non-Motile Strains Is Related to Oxidative Stress.

is a Gram-negative foodborne pathogen that causes diarrheal disease and is associated with severe post-infectious sequelae. Bacteriophages (phages) are a possible means of reducing colonization in poultry to prevent downstream human infections. However, the factors influencing phage-host interactions must be better understood before this strategy can be predictably employed.

Trehalose-deficient Acinetobacter baumannii exhibits reduced virulence by losing capsular polysaccharide and altering membrane integrity.

Acinetobacter baumannii has become a leading cause of bacterial nosocomial infections, in part, due to its ability to resist desiccation, disinfection and antibiotics. Several factors contribute to the tenacity and virulence of this pathogen, including production of a broad range of surface glycoconjugates, secretory systems and efflux pumps. We became interested in examining the importance of trehalose in A.

RNA and Sugars, Unique Properties of Bacteriophages Infecting Multidrug Resistant Strain LH6.

Bacteriophages (phages) are predicted to be the most ubiquitous biological entity on earth, and yet, there are still vast knowledge gaps in our understanding of phage diversity and phage-host interactions. Approximately one hundred -infecting DNA viruses have been identified, and in this report, we describe eight more. We isolated two typical dsDNA lytic podoviruses (CAP1-2), five unique dsRNA lytic cystoviruses (CAP3-7), and one dsDNA lysogenic siphovirus (SLAP1), all capable of infecting the multidrug resistant isolate LH6.

Significance of fucose in intestinal health and disease.

The deoxyhexose sugar L-fucose is important for many biological processes within the human body and the associated microbiota. This carbohydrate is abundant in host gut mucosal surfaces, numerous microbial cell surface structures, and some dietary carbohydrates. Fucosylated oligosaccharides facilitate the establishment of a healthy microbiota and provide protection from infection.

Multidrug Resistant Isolates Release Resistance Determinants Through Contact-Dependent Killing and Bacteriophage Lysis.

Antimicrobial resistance is an ancient bacterial defense mechanism that has rapidly spread due to the frequent use of antibiotics for disease treatment and livestock growth promotion. We are becoming increasingly aware that pathogens, such as members of the genus , are precipitously evolving drug resistances through multiple mechanisms, including the acquisition of antibiotic resistance genes. In this study, we isolated three multidrug resistant species from birds on a free-range farm.

Influence of Protein Glycosylation on Physiology.

is commonly associated with venereal disease and abortions in cattle and sheep, and can also cause intestinal or systemic infections in humans that are immunocompromised, elderly, or exposed to infected livestock. It is also believed that infection can result from the consumption or handling of contaminated food products, but is rarely detected in food since isolation methods are not suited for its detection and the physiology of the organism makes culturing difficult. In the related species, , the ability to colonize the host has been linked to N-linked protein glycosylation with quantitative proteomics demonstrating that glycosylation is interconnected with cell physiology.

An atypical lipoteichoic acid from elicits a broadly cross-reactive and protective immune response.

is a leading cause of food-poisoning and causes avian necrotic enteritis, posing a significant problem to both the poultry industry and human health. No effective vaccine against is currently available. Using an antiserum screen of mutants generated from a transposon-mutant library, here we identified an immunoreactive antigen that was lost in a putative glycosyltransferase mutant, suggesting that this antigen is likely a glycoconjugate.