AbcA transporter enhances persister formation under β-lactam exposure.

We evaluated the role of AbcA transporter in bacterial persistence and survival following exposure to the bactericidal agents nafcillin and oxacillin at both the population and single-cell levels. We show that AbcA overexpression resulted in resistance to nafcillin but not oxacillin. Using distinct fluorescent reporters of cell viability and AbcA expression, we found that over 6-14 hours of persistence formation, the proportion of AbcA reporter-expressing cells assessed by confocal microscopy increased sixfold as cell viability reporters decreased.

A Comparison between SARS-CoV-2 and Gram-Negative Bacteria-Induced Hyperinflammation and Sepsis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by the body's overwhelming response to an infection, such as pneumonia or urinary tract infection. It occurs when the immune system releases cytokines into the bloodstream, triggering widespread inflammation. If not treated, it can lead to organ failure and death.

Color-Switchable Nanosilicon Fluorescent Probes.

Fluorescent probes are vital to cell imaging by allowing specific parts of cells to be visualized and quantified. Color-switchable probes (CSPs), with tunable emission wavelength upon contact with specific targets, are particularly powerful because they not only eliminate the need to wash away all unbound probe but also allow for internal controls of probe concentrations, thereby facilitating quantification. Several such CSPs exist and have proven very useful, but not for all key cellular targets.

Permeability enhancers sensitize β-lactamase-expressing Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to β-lactamase inhibitors, thereby restoring their β-lactam susceptibility.

Objectives: β-lactamases are the major resistance determinant for β-lactam antibiotics in Gram-negative bacteria. Although there are β-lactamase inhibitors (BLIs) available, β-lactam-BLI combinations are increasingly being neutralised by diverse mechanisms of bacterial resistance. This study hypothesised that permeability-increasing antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) could lower the amount of BLIs necessary to sensitise bacteria to antibiotics that are β-lactamase substrates.

Photoinactivation of Moraxella catarrhalis Using 405-nm Blue Light: Implications for the Treatment of Otitis Media.

Moraxella catarrhalis is one of the major otopathogens of otitis media (OM) in childhood. M. catarrhalis tends to form biofilm, which contributes to the chronicity and recurrence of infections, as well as resistance to antibiotic treatment.