Targeting the YXXΦ Motifs of the SARS Coronaviruses 1 and 2 ORF3a Peptides by In Silico Analysis to Predict Novel Virus-Host Interactions.

The emerging SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 belong to the family of "common cold" RNA coronaviruses, and they are responsible for the 2003 epidemic and the current pandemic with over 6.3 M deaths worldwide. The ORF3a gene is conserved in both viruses and codes for the accessory protein ORF3a, with unclear functions, possibly related to viral virulence and pathogenesis.

Direct Colorimetry of Imipenem Decomposition as a Novel Cost-Effective Method for Detecting Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteria.

In the absence of a molecule that would collectively inhibit both metallo-β-lactamases and serine-reactive carbapenemases, containment of their genes is the main weapon currently available for confronting carbapenem resistance in hospitals. Cost-effective methodologies rapidly detecting carbapenemase-producing enterobacteria (CPE) would facilitate such measures. Herein, a low-cost CPE detection method was developed that was based on the direct colorimetry of the yellow shift caused by the accumulation of diketopiperazines-products of the acid-catalyzed imipenem oligomerization-induced by carbapenemase action on dense solutions of imipenem/cilastatin.

Detection of carbapenemase producing enterobacteria using an ion sensitive field effect transistor sensor.

The timely and accurate detection of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) is imperative to manage this worldwide problem in an effective fashion. Herein we addressed the question of whether the protons produced during imipenem hydrolysis could be detected using an ion sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET). Application of the methodology on enzyme preparations showed that the sensor is able to detect carbapenemases of the NDM, IMP, KPC and NMC-A types at low nanomolar concentrations while VIM and OXA-48 responded at levels above 100 nM.

Structural insights into the enhanced carbapenemase efficiency of OXA-655 compared to OXA-10.

Carbapenemases are the main cause of carbapenem resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. How β-lactamases with weak carbapenemase activity, such as the OXA-10-type class D β-lactamases, contribute to anti-bacterial drug resistance is unclear. OXA-655 is a T26M and V117L OXA-10 variant, recently identified from hospital wastewater.

A Canine-Directed Chimeric Multi-Epitope Vaccine Induced Protective Immune Responses in BALB/c Mice Infected with .

Leishmaniases are complex vector-borne diseases caused by intracellular parasites of the genus . The visceral form of the disease affects both humans and canids in tropical, subtropical, and Mediterranean regions. One health approach has suggested that controlling zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) could have an impact on the reduction of the human incidence of visceral leishmaniasis (VL).

Structural and biochemical characterization of the environmental MBLs MYO-1, ECV-1 and SHD-1.

Background: MBLs form a large and heterogeneous group of bacterial enzymes conferring resistance to β-lactam antibiotics, including carbapenems. A large environmental reservoir of MBLs has been identified, which can act as a source for transfer into human pathogens. Therefore, structural investigation of environmental and clinically rare MBLs can give new insights into structure-activity relationships to explore the role of catalytic and second shell residues, which are under selective pressure.

Characterization of the First OXA-10 Natural Variant with Increased Carbapenemase Activity.

While carbapenem resistance in Gram-negative bacteria is mainly due to the production of efficient carbapenemases, β-lactamases with a narrower spectrum may also contribute to resistance when combined with additional mechanisms. OXA-10-type class D β-lactamases, previously shown to be weak carbapenemases, could represent such a case. In this study, two novel OXA-10 variants were identified as the sole carbapenem-hydrolyzing enzymes in meropenem-resistant enterobacteria isolated from hospital wastewater and found by next-generation sequencing to express additional β-lactam resistance mechanisms.

Functional metagenomics reveals a novel carbapenem-hydrolyzing mobile beta-lactamase from Indian river sediments contaminated with antibiotic production waste.

Evolution has provided environmental bacteria with a plethora of genes that give resistance to antibiotic compounds. Under anthropogenic selection pressures, some of these genes are believed to be recruited over time into pathogens by horizontal gene transfer. River sediment polluted with fluoroquinolones and other drugs discharged from bulk drug production in India constitute an environment with unprecedented, long-term antibiotic selection pressures.

Laboratory evaluation of Brilliance™ CRE Agar for screening carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae: Performance on a collection of characterised clinical isolates from Greece.

The performance of Oxoid Brilliance™ CRE Agar (BCRE), a new chromogenic medium designed for screening of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, was evaluated on a collection of clinical isolates of enterobacteria (n=175) and non-fermenters (n=55) with known β-lactam resistance mechanisms and levels of susceptibility to carbapenems. BCRE supported the growth of 100 of 108 enterobacterial isolates that were non-susceptible to at least one carbapenem, whilst excluding 57 of the 67 carbapenem-susceptible isolates. The eight non-susceptible isolates that did not grow on BCRE were carbapenemase-producers with low carbapenem minimum inhibitory concentrations, mostly exhibiting non-susceptibility only to one carbapenem.

Interactions of oximino-substituted boronic acids and β-lactams with the CMY-2-derived extended-spectrum cephalosporinases CMY-30 and CMY-42.

CMY-30 and CMY-42 are extended-spectrum (ES) derivatives of CMY-2. ES characteristics are due to substitutions of Gly (CMY-30) and Ser (CMY-42) for Val211 in the Ω-loop. To characterize the effects of 211 substitutions, we studied the interactions of CMY-2, -30, and -42 with boronic acid transition state inhibitors (BATSIs) resembling ceftazidime and cefotaxime, assessed thermal stability of the enzymes in their free forms and in complexes with BATSIs and oximino-β-lactams, and simulated, using molecular dynamics (MD), the CMY-42 apoenzyme and the CMY-42 complexes with ceftazidime and the ceftazidime-like BATSI.

Effects of the Val211Gly substitution on molecular dynamics of the CMY-2 cephalosporinase: implications on hydrolysis of expanded-spectrum cephalosporins.

CMY-30, a naturally occurring class C β-lactamase differing from the Citrobacter freundii-derived CMY-2 by a Val211Gly substitution in the Ω-loop, exhibits increased hydrolytic efficiency against ceftazidime and cefotaxime. Kinetic constants of CMY-2 and CMY-30 against the latter substrates suggested that the improved efficiency of the Gly211 variant was due to an increase in k(cat). The structural basis of the increased turn-over rates of oxyimino-cephalosporins caused by Val211Gly was studied using 5 ns molecular dynamics simulations of CMY-2 and CMY-30 in their free forms and in covalent complexes with ceftazidime (acyl-enzyme) as well as a boronic acid analogue of ceftazidime (deacylation transition state).

CMY-42, a novel plasmid-mediated CMY-2 variant AmpC beta-lactamase.

We isolated a clinical Escherichia coli strain with an antimicrobial resistance phenotype characteristic for the expression of an AmpC beta-lactamase. Molecular methods revealed a novel, plasmid-localized variant of CMY-2 with a substitution of valine 231 for serine (V231S), which was designated CMY-42. Like the CMY-2-like AmpC beta-lactamase CMY-30, carrying the substitution V231G, CMY-42 displayed increased activity toward expanded spectrum cephalosporins.

Comparative biochemical and computational study of the role of naturally occurring mutations at Ambler positions 104 and 170 in GES β-lactamases.

In GES-type β-lactamases, positions 104 and 170 are occupied by Glu or Lys and by Gly, Asn, or Ser, respectively. Previous studies have indicated an important role of these amino acids in the interaction with β-lactams, although their precise role, especially that of residue 104, remains uncertain. In this study, we constructed GES-1 (Glu104, Gly170), GES-2 (Glu104, Asn170), GES-5 (Glu104, Ser170), GES-6 (Lys104, Ser170), GES-7 (Lys104, Gly170), and GES-13 (Lys104, Asn170) by site-specific mutagenesis and compared their hydrolytic properties.

Extended-spectrum properties of CMY-30, a Val211Gly mutant of CMY-2 cephalosporinase.

CMY-30, a Val211Gly mutant of CMY-2 cephalosporinase, was derived by mutagenesis. The hydrolytic efficiency of CMY-30 against expanded-spectrum cephalosporins was higher than that of CMY-2 due to increased k(cat) values. Findings indicate a role of the Omega loop residue 211 in determining the substrate specificities of CMYs also corroborated by modeling studies.