Oxidative damage and delayed replication allow viable to go undetected.

“Viable but nonculturable” states of bacteria pose challenges for environmental and clinical microbiology, but their biological mechanisms remain obscure. (Mtb), the leading cause of death from infection until the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, affords a notable example of this phenotype. Mtb can enter into a “differentially detectable” (DD) state associated with phenotypic antimicrobial resistance.

Rifamycin action on RNA polymerase in antibiotic-tolerant results in differentially detectable populations.

(Mtb) encounters stresses during the pathogenesis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) that can suppress replication of the bacteria and render them phenotypically tolerant to most available drugs. Where studied, the majority of Mtb in the sputum of most untreated subjects with active TB have been found to be nonreplicating by the criterion that they do not grow as colony-forming units (cfus) when plated on agar. However, these cells are viable because they grow when diluted in liquid media.

N-methylation of a bactericidal compound as a resistance mechanism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The rising incidence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) makes it imperative to understand the underlying mechanisms. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the single leading cause of death from a bacterial pathogen and estimated to be the leading cause of death from AMR. A pyrido-benzimidazole, 14, was reported to have potent bactericidal activity against Mtb.

A genetically encoded reporter for real-time imaging of cofilin-actin rods in living neurons.

Filament bundles (rods) of cofilin and actin (1:1) form in neurites of stressed neurons where they inhibit synaptic function. Live-cell imaging of rod formation is hampered by the fact that overexpression of a chimera of wild type cofilin with a fluorescent protein causes formation of spontaneous and persistent rods, which is exacerbated by the photostress of imaging. The study of rod induction in living cells calls for a rod reporter that does not cause spontaneous rods.

FK506 as an adjuvant of tolerogenic DNA vaccination for the prevention of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Background: DNA vaccination is a strategy that has been developed primarily to elicit protective immunity against infection and cancer.

Methods: DNA vaccine was used, in conjunction with an immunosuppressant, to tolerize harmful autoimmunity.

Results: Immunization of C57BL/6 mice with MOG(35-55), a myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-derived peptide, and FK506 (Tacrolimus) as a tolerogenic adjuvant stimulated regulatory dendritic cells, induced antigen-specific regulatory T cells (Treg), and protected the animals from subsequent induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).