Publications by authors named "L O Bakaletz"

Background: Bacterial biofilm communities are embedded in a protective extracellular matrix comprised of various components, with its' integrity largely owed to a 3-dimensional lattice of extracellular DNA (eDNA) interconnected by Holliday Junction (HJ)-like structures and stabilised by the ubiquitous eubacterial DNABII family of DNA-binding architectural proteins. We recently showed that the host innate immune effector High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) protein possesses extracellular anti-biofilm activity by destabilising these HJ-like structures, resulting in release of biofilm-resident bacteria into a vulnerable state. Herein, we showed that HMGB1's anti-biofilm activity was completely contained within a contiguous 97 amino acid region that retained DNA-binding activity, called 'mB Box-97'.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Otitis media (OM) is one of the most globally pervasive pediatric conditions. Translocation of nasopharynx-resident opportunistic pathogens like nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) assimilates into polymicrobial middle ear biofilms, which promote OM pathogenesis and substantially diminish antibiotic efficacy. Oral or tympanostomy tube (TT)-delivered antibiotics remain the standard of care (SOC) despite consequences including secondary infection, dysbiosis, and antimicrobial resistance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Structural or mucus hypersecretory pulmonary diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF), wherein viscous mucus accumulates and clearance functions are impaired, predispose people to lung infection by inhaled bacteria that form biofilm aggregates. Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), primarily and are the growing cause of these lung infections and are extremely challenging to treat due to antibiotic recalcitrance. Better therapeutic approaches are urgently needed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Non-typeable (NTHi) is a major bacterial pathogen of the human airway. We report high-depth coverage RNA-Seq data from prototype NTHi strains 723 and R2866, encoding two of the most common phase-variable ModA alleles found in NTHi strains, ModA2 and ModA10, respectively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF