Publications by authors named "Heng-Keat Tam"

Persistence of Acinetobacter baumannii in environments with low water activity is largely attributed to the biosynthesis of compatible solutes. Mannitol is one of the key compatible solutes in A. baumannii, and it is synthesized by a bifunctional mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase/phosphatase (AbMtlD).

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Efflux transporters of the RND family confer resistance to multiple antibiotics in Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we identify and chemically optimize pyridylpiperazine-based compounds that potentiate antibiotic activity in E. coli through inhibition of its primary RND transporter, AcrAB-TolC.

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is an important nosocomial pathogen that requires thoughtful consideration in the antibiotic prescription strategy due to its multidrug resistant phenotype. Tetracycline antibiotics have recently been re-administered as part of the combination antimicrobial regimens to treat infections caused by . We show that the TetA(G) efflux pump of AYE confers resistance to a variety of tetracyclines including the clinically important antibiotics doxycycline and minocycline, but not to tigecycline.

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Gram-negative bacteria maintain an intrinsic resistance mechanism against entry of noxious compounds by utilizing highly efficient efflux pumps. The E. coli AcrAB-TolC drug efflux pump contains the inner membrane H/drug antiporter AcrB comprising three functionally interdependent protomers, cycling consecutively through the loose (L), tight (T) and open (O) state during cooperative catalysis.

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Objectives: To investigate the role of Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS)-type transporters from Acinetobacter baumannii AYE in tigecycline efflux.

Methods: Two putative tetracycline transporter genes of A. baumannii AYE (tetA and tetG) were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and drug susceptibility assays were conducted with tigecycline and three other tetracycline derivatives.

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AcrAB(Z)-TolC is the main drug efflux transporter complex in Escherichia coli. The extrusion of various toxic compounds depends on several drug binding sites within the trimeric AcrB transporter. Membrane-localized carboxylated substrates, such as fusidic acid and hydrophobic β-lactams, access the pump via a groove between the transmembrane helices TM1 and TM2.

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Objectives: To identify major facilitator superfamily (MFS)-type chloramphenicol transporters of Acinetobacter baumannii AYE, to characterize its substrate specificity and identify CraA substrate and H+ binding sites.

Methods: Five ORFs predicted to encode chloramphenicol transporters were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and their substrate specificity was determined by drug susceptibility assays on solid agar medium. CraA transport properties were determined via whole cell fluorescence experiments using ethidium and dequalinium.

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Secondary multidrug (Mdr) transporters utilize ion concentration gradients to actively remove antibiotics and other toxic compounds from cells. The model Mdr transporter MdfA from Escherichia coli exchanges dissimilar drugs for protons. The transporter should open at the cytoplasmic side to enable access of drugs into the Mdr recognition pocket.

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X-ray crystallography is still the most prominent technique in use to decipher the 3D structures of membrane proteins. For successful crystallization, sample quality is the most important parameter that should be addressed. In almost every case, highly pure, monodisperse, and stable protein sample is a prerequisite.

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The deployment of multidrug efflux pumps is a powerful defence mechanism for Gram-negative bacterial cells when exposed to antimicrobial agents. The major multidrug efflux transport system in Escherichia coli, AcrAB-TolC, is a tripartite system using the proton-motive force as an energy source. The polyspecific substrate-binding module AcrB uses various pathways to sequester drugs from the periplasm and outer leaflet of the inner membrane.

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The structures of the O-glycosyltransferase LanGT2 and the engineered, C-C bond-forming variant LanGT2S8Ac show how the replacement of a single loop can change the functionality of the enzyme. Crystal structures of the enzymes in complex with a nonhydrolyzable nucleotide-sugar analogue revealed that there is a conformational transition to create the binding sites for the aglycon substrate. This induced-fit transition was explored by molecular docking experiments with various aglycon substrates.

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A cryptic plasmid, pMWHK1 recovered from an Antarctic bacterium Pedobacter cryoconitis BG5 was sequenced and characterised. The plasmid is a circular 6206bp molecule with eight putative open reading frames designated as orf1, orf2, orf3, orf4, orf5, orf6, orf7 and orf8. All the putative open reading frames of pMWHK1 are found to be actively transcribed.

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The stability of proteins is paramount for their therapeutic and industrial use and, thus, is a major task for protein engineering. Several types of chemical and physical stabilities are desired, and discussion revolves around whether each stability trait needs to be addressed separately and how specific and compatible stabilizing mutations act. We demonstrate a stepwise perturbation-compensation strategy, which identifies mutations rescuing the activity of a truncated TEM β-lactamase.

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