Premise plumbing, the pipes and fixtures at the building level, present a unique challenge for maintaining drinking water quality. Of particular concern are opportunistic pathogens, including Legionella pneumophila which can regrow in premise plumbing and cause disease in immunocompromised populations. The goal of this work was to explore engineering methods for control of L. pneumophila and total regrowth. The first line of study involved a series of experiments with simulated glass water heaters (SGWHs) to investigate interactions between specific water chemistry factors and L. pneumophila regrowth, and the second used laboratory grade purified water to investigate the limits of a nutrient control approach for biological stability. Several water chemistry factors including assimilable organic carbon (AOC) content, granular activated carbon (GAC) biofiltration, plumbing materials, copper concentrations and temperature were investigated using SGWHs. AOC is the carbon available for bacteria growth in drinking water. Results indicated that AOC reduction may be a promising method for controlling L. pneumophila and total bacteria regrowth, but there may be a point at which AOC reduction is no longer effective. Prior GAC biofiltration removed organic carbon and was effective in controlling total bacterial regrowth in SGWHs, but actually encouraged L. pneumophila regrowth. A wide variety of materials typically encountered in premise plumbing was investigated and only had limited effect on proliferation of L. pneumophila and total bacteria. The effects were dynamic, even with long-term studies. Copper pipes held promise for control of L. pneumophila, as did copper concentration across a range of pHs. Aqueous copper concentration released from pipes was dependent on temperature, however, and thus this control method may not be applicable in all hot water lines. The peak temperatures for L. pneumophila proliferation fell between 41 and 45 °C, temperatures which could be encountered in a hot water distribution system when the water heater is set to 48 °C, as is often recommended with scalding and energy concerns. A constant temperature of 53 °C seemed to provide control of L. pneumophila, but recolonization is possible even at these high temperatures. Work with laboratory grade water indicated that extreme control of nutrients was not enough to completely control regrowth in premise plumbing. With stagnation in the cleanest conditions, a 2-log increase of a diverse group of bacteria was observed within 10 days. As drinking water can never achieve such nutrient removal, this study presents the limits of nutrient removal as a strategy for regrowth control. This work explored both the potential and the limitations of several mechanisms for controlling regrowth in premise plumbing. Understanding how these water chemistry factors affect L. pneumophila and total bacterial regrowth is critical to identifying the most effective engineering controls. / Master of Science

In diesem Projekt wurde die Wechselwirkung des PPIase-Enzyms MIP mit Kollagen IV unter- sucht. MIP ist maßgeblich für die Infektiösität von Legionella pneumophila verantwortlich, einem Bakterium, welches im Menschen schwere Lungenentzündungen auslösen kann. Das Enzym zeigt eine hohe Affinität gegenüber einem kurzen Peptidsequenzabschnitt in Kolla- gen IV (genannt „P290”), welches unter anderem im Epithel der Lunge zu finden ist. Die Interaktionsoberfläche der Moleküle wurde durch den Einsatz eines paramagnetischen Spin-Labels in NMR-Experimenten charakterisiert. Mit Hilfe von Docking und Moleküldy- namiksimulationen konnte aus diesen Daten ein Modell des MIP-Kollagen-Komplexes be- rechnet werden. Es wurde gezeigt, dass MIP als Dimer in der Lage ist, nach Kollagen IV zu „greifen” und sich dann an das Molekül heranzuziehen. Wahrscheinlich dient dieser Mechanismus der Adhä- sion von L. pneumophila an die Wirtszelle. Neben der zuvor postulierten Destabilisierung von Kollagen IV durch MIP, welche hier nicht beobachtet wurde, könnte die Adhäsion ein wichtiger Faktor für die Virulenz von L. pneumophila sein. Weiterhin wurde die inhibitorische Wirkung des isolierten Peptids P290 auf die biologische PPIase-Aktivität von MIP untersucht. Durch NMR-Messungen und anschließenden Mole- küldynamiksimulationen konnte gezeigt werden, dass P290 sich stabil in die Bindungsta- sche von MIP einlagert und durch den Sequenzabschnitt -CYS130-PRO131---TRP134- das Enzym blockiert. Die übrigen Aminosäuren in P290 dienen der Stabilisierung des Kom- plexes und sorgen für die Selektivität von P290, welches, im Unterschied zu bekannten Wirkstoffen, das humane Homolog zu MIP nicht inhibiert. Die Vorhersagen der Simulatio- nen konnten durch ein Peptid Microarray und Messungen der enzymatischen Aktivität von MIP in PPIase-Assays bestätigt werden. Die Ergebnisse wurden zur Optimierung von P290 eingesetzt, indem die Peptidsequenz durch den Austausch zweier Aminosäuren verändert und das Molekül zu einem Ring geschlossen wurde. Die entstandene Struktur besitzt deut- lich verbesserte Bindungseigenschaften und könnte künftig als Basis für eine neue Klasse von Wirkstoffen gegen L. pneumophila dienen. In diesem Projekt wurde eine Methode zur Aufklärung der Molekülstruktur neuartiger Wirkstoffe gegen Malaria im Komplex mit ihrem paramagnetischen Zielmolekül etabliert und weiterentwickelt. Die Vorgehensweise leitet intermolekulare Distanzinformationen aus der sog. paramagnetischen Relaxation ab, einem Effekt, der den Einsatz klassischer Me- thoden zur Molekülstrukturaufklärung mittels NMR verhindert. Es werden drei Parameter durch NMR-Spektroskopie bestimmt: 1. die longitudinale Relaxationszeit der Wasserstoff- atome in Wirkstoffmolekül, 2. die effektive Korrelationszeit des Komplexes und 3. der Spin- Zustand des Eisenions im Zielmolekül. Mit Hilfe dieser Messmethode konnte die Komplexstruktur mehrerer bekannter Medika- mente gegen Malaria aufgeklärt werden. Weiterhin wurden zwei neue Klassen von Wirkstof- fen untersucht, die C,C-gekoppelten Naphthylisoquinolin-Alkaloide und die N,C-gekoppelte Naphthylisoquinolin-Alkaloide. In Übereinstimmung mit theoretischen Vorhersagen aus der Literatur lagern sich die Wirkstoffe stets um einen Winkel geneigt und in Richtung des Randes des Zielmoleküls verschoben an. Diese Konfiguration maximiert die attraktiven π- π-Wechselwirkungen zwischen den Molekülen. Aufgrund der gewonnenen Ergebnisse aus NMR, UV-Spektroskopie und Massenspektrome- trie konnte die Existenz eines bisher nicht bekannten Tetramer-Komplexes nachgewiesen werden, welcher eine wichtige Zwischenstufe in der Biokristallisation von Hämozoin durch die Malariaparasiten darstellen könnte, und Ansatzpunkte für den weiterhin nicht vollstän- dig bekannten Wirkmechanismus der meisten Antimalaria-Wirkstoffe liefert. Für die Naphthylisoquinolin-Alkaloide zeigte sich weiterhin, dass Wasser eine essenzielle Rolle in der Komplexbildung spielt. In Moleküldynamiksimulationen der N,C-gekoppelten Naphthylisoquinolin-Alkaloide konnte die Entstehung einer Wasserstoffbrücke zwischen Wirkstoff und Zielmolekül gezeigt werden, welche einen zusätzlichen Weg der Komplex- stabilisierung neben den bereits bekannten π-π-Wechselwirkungen aufzeigt. Die N,C-NIQs konnten erstmals auch bei einem pH-Wert von 5,6 beobachtet werden, einer chemischen Umgebung wie sie auch in-vivo in der Verdauungsvakuole des Malariaparasiten herrscht. / Summary Even in the 21st century, infectious diseases remain the predominant cause of death world- wide. According to reports of the World Health Organisation, 2 million people die of Malaria every year, most of which are children under the age of five years. Respiratory infections claim an additional 3.9 million lives. Other infections are held responsible for a total of more than 10 million deaths. Global climate change leads to the occurrence of tropical in- fections well beyond their former endemic regions. Additional challenges arise due to the growing number of resistant organisms, rendering most known treatments ineffective. To achieve sustained success in the fight against infectious diseases, a detailed understan- ding on the mode of action of newly developed substances on a molecular level is essential. In this thesis, magnetic resonance spectroscopy is used as a tool for molecular structure determination. My results may offer incentives for the development of new agents against infectious diseases and their continuous optimization. 4.1 The MIP-collagen IV complex The scope of this project was to investigate the interaction between the PPIase enzyme MIP and the NC1 (non-collagenous 1) domain of collagen IV. The MIP (macrophage infectivity potentiator) protein is the major virulence factor of Legionella pneumophila, a bacterium causing severe lung infections in humans. MIP exhibits high affinity towards a short peptide sequence in collagen IV (“P290”). Amongst others, this type of collagen is found in the epithelial cells of the lung. In this work, the interface of interaction between P290 and MIP was mapped using a pa- ramagnetic spin label in combination with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy expe- riments. Labeled P290 strongly enhances the relaxation rates of individual amino acids in MIP, which are in the immediate vicinity (within 1 nm) of the spin label. The enhancedrelaxation rates were detected through T2-sensitive HSQC experiments. Subsequently, re- sults were incorporated in docking and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations to compute a model of the MIP-collagen IV complex. Results show the MIP dimer “grabbing” collagen IV with both enzymatic domains and pul- ling the molecules closer together. We suggest that this molecular adhesion mechanism may play a key role in the invasion of host tissue by L. pneumophila. A possible destabilization of collagen IV through the enzymatic activity of MIP, as suggested previously by other groups, was not observed. Additionally, our co-operation partners were able to demonstrate that P290, as an indi- vidual peptide, inhibits the biological PPIase activity of MIP, while leaving human homo- logue enzymes untouched. My findings from NMR measurements and subsequent MD si- mulations showed that P290 occupies the MIP binding pocket via the amino acid sequence -CYS130-PRO131---TRP134-. This sequence element is stabilized via the attachment of the terminal residues of P290 to the surface of MIP, thereby enabling P290 to distinguish between MIP and human enzymes. Based on these results, we constructed optimized versions of P290 by ring closure and repla- cement of two amino acids. Our co-operation partners showed that the resulting structures exhibit improved binding properties on a peptide microarray and may provide the basis for a new class of inhibitors targeting Legionella pneumophila. 4.2 Structure elucidation of paramagnetic complexes for- med by novel antimalarial agents We used paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy to characterize the formation of complexes of several antimalarial compounds with their presumed target “heme”. A paramagnetic Fe(III) ion is located at the center of heme, which influences the longitudinal relaxation rates of nearby proton spins. This effect interferes with common strategies for NMR structure elucidation, but in this study was taken advantage of in a newly developed method to map intermolecular distances with high precision using NMR inversion recovery experiments at 9.4 T, 14.1 T, 17.6 T, and 18.8 T. This method was utilized to solve the molecular structure of known drugs against Mala- ria as well as two new classes of antimalarial agents (the C,C-coupled naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids and the N,C-coupled naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids) in complex with their target molecule: heme. In accordance with theoretical predictions from the literature, we sho- wed that the drug molecules align in a configuration maximizing attractive π-π stacking interactions between the molecules. In combination with findings from NMR, UV spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, we de- monstrated the formation of a previously unknown tetrameric complex. This complex may represent an important step in the mode of action of antimalarial drugs. Additionally, results from NMR measurements and molecular dynamics simulations provided insight into the important role of H2O for complex stabilization. We were able to demonstrate the formation of a so far undescribed hydrogen bond between drug and target. Furthermore, it was possible to investigate the N,C-coupled naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids at pH 5.6, which exactly matches the chemical environment in the food vacuole of the ma- larial parasite in-vivo. All these findings may contribute to a deeper understanding of the mode of action of new antimalarial agents.

Die vorliegende Arbeit thematisiert das computergestützte strukturbasierte Design auf dem Gebiet der HIV-1-Integrase und des Macrophage Infectivity Potentiator (MIP) von Legionella pneumophila. Die durchgeführten Studien geben wertvolle Aufschlüsse über den Wirk-mechanismus einer bekannten Integrase-Inhibitorenklasse and zeigt darüber hinaus einen neuartigen Ansatz zur Integrase-Inhibition auf. Im Falle des MIP-Enzyms konnten zwei niedermolekulare Inhibitoren ermittelt werden. Die Integrase-Studien ergaben wertvolle Informationen im Hinblick auf das Design neuer Inhibitoren. Docking-Experimente konnten die Hypothese weiter untermauern, nach der die Klasse der Diketosäure-Inhibitoren nicht als freie Liganden, sondern als Metallion-Komplexe an das aktive Zentrum der Integrase binden. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie helfen dabei, das Verständnis über den Wirkmechanismus dieser wichtigen Klasse von Integrase-Inhibitoren weiter zu vertiefen. Um der Entwicklung von Integrase-Inhibitoren einen neuen Impuls zu geben, wurde eine neue Strategie zur Inhibition dargelegt: Anstatt an das aktive Zentrum soll eine neue Inhibitor-Klasse an das Dimerisierungs-Interface eines Integrase-Monomers binden, die katalytisch notwendige Dimerisierung verhindern und somit die enzymatische Aktivität stören. Das Hauptproblem hierbei bestand in den fehlenden Strukturdaten des freien Monomers. Hierzu wurden Molekulardynamik-Simulationen durchgeführt, um nähere strukturelle Informationen zu erhalten. Momentaufnahmen unterschiedlicher Konformationen dienten als Input-Strukturen für eine Docking-Studie mit dem peptidischen Inhibitor YFLLKL, um dessen Bindemodus aufzuklären. Hierbei zeigte sich, dass dieser Ligand an eine Interface-Konformation bindet, die durch eine Y-förmige Bindestelle charakterisiert ist. Im nächsten Schritt sollte diese Protein-Konformation mit kleinen, nicht-peptidischen Molekülen adressiert werden. Die erste Strategie bestand darin, ein Pharmakophor-Modell zu erstellen, das zur Suche nach Molekülen mit einer guten Komplementarität zur Y-förmigen Bindetasche geeignet ist. Das folgende virtuelle Screening ergab zehn Verbindungen, die eine gute Komplementarität und günstige hydrophobe Wechselwirkungen aufwiesen. Leider zeigte keine der Verbindungen eine reproduzierbare Aktivität im Integrase-Assay. Hierbei verbleiben jedoch gewisse Zweifel, da in dem Assay die Zugabe von BSA vorgeschrieben war, das möglicherweise die hydrophoben Inhibitor-Kandidaten gebunden hat. Die erwähnte erste Strategie wurde überdacht: In einem zweiten Ansatz galt die Hauptaufmerksamkeit der Absättigung von wasserstoffbrückenbildenden Resten. Diese waren zuvor von den eher hydrophoben Verbindungen nicht optimal abgesättigt worden. Zwei Pharmakophor-Modelle wurden erstellt und in einem virtuellen Screening eingesetzt: Docking-Studien der Hits zeigten jedoch, dass nach wie vor viele wasserstoffbrückenbildende Reste des Proteins nicht vom Liganden abgesättigt wurden. Nach abschließender eingehender Betrachtung der Bindemoden der verbliebenen Moleküle aus dem virtuellen Screening konnten nur acht für weitere Testungen ausgewählt werden (Ergebnisse der experimentellen Testung durch Kooperationspartner stehen noch aus). Diese geringe „Ausbeute“ an geeigneten Verbindungen für das Integrase-Dimerisierungsinterface zeigt, wie schwer dieses Target zu adressieren ist: Das Interface weist eine schnell wechselnde Abfolge von basischen, sauren und hydrophoben Resten auf. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Protein-Protein-Interfaces zeigt das Integrase-Interface keine „aufgeräumte“ Bindetasche mit klar voneinander getrennten hydrophoben und hydrophilen Bereichen. Für das zweite Enzym, MIP, konnten mit Hilfe des strukturbasierten Designs zwei niedermolekulare Inhibitoren gefunden werden. Beide Verbindungen führten zu einer deutlichen Abnahme der katalytischen Aktivität. Soweit bekannt, sind bisher keinerlei niedermolekulare MIP-Inhibitoren veröffentlicht. Der Vergleich von MIP mit der humanen PPIase FKBP12 zeigte eine größtenteils ähnliche Tasche, die jedoch einen entscheidenden Unterschied aufweist, nämlich in der Orientierung des Restes Tyr109. Die detaillierte Betrachtung der Strukturdaten beider Enzyme konnte schließlich eine Erklärung liefern, warum ein ketoacyl-substituiertes Pipecolinderivat nicht an MIP bindet, ein sulfonsubstituiertes Pipecolinderivat hingegen das Enzym inhibiert. Die Erkenntnisse über das Inhibitoren-Design für Legionella-MIP können auch auf andere Organismen (z.B. Trypanosomen) übertragen werden, bei denen ebenfalls (homologes) MIP ein Pathogenitätsfaktor ist. / In this thesis, computational structure-based design approaches were employed to target the HIV-1 integrase and the macrophage infectivity potentiator (MIP) of Legionella pneumophila. The thesis yields valuable information about the mechanism of action of a known class of integrase inhibitors and a novel approach towards enzyme inhibition, which still is mainly unaddressed in current integrase research. For the MIP enzyme, two small-molecule MIP inhibitors were discovered. The computational studies of HIV-1 integrase have provided valuable information for IN inhibitor design. Docking experiments supported the hypothesis that the well-known diketo acid inhibitors enter the IN active site not as free ligands, but rather as metal complexes. These results help to reveal the mechanism of action of this important class of IN inhibitors.To give an impulse for the development of a novel class of inhibitors, a new strategy towards IN inhibition was introduced: An alternative binding site, the dimerization interface of an IN catalytic core domain monomer, was explored for inhibitor design. The lack of structural data of the free monomer was overcome by extensive MD studies. Snapshots derived from the MD simulation were used as protein input structures in a docking study with the inhibitory peptide YFLLKL to reveal its potential binding mode. The docking procedure showed that the peptidic ligand binds to a dimerization interface conformation which shows a Y-shaped binding site.. The next step was to address this protein conformation with small, non-peptidic molecules. The first strategy towards finding small-molecule interface binders was to create a pharmacophore model with hydrophobic features and shape constraints, aiming to find molecules with a good complementarity to the Y-shaped dimerization interface. Virtual screening yielded a total of 10 compounds, which all displayed good shape complementarity and favorable hydrophobic interactions. Unfortunately, none of the compounds showed a reproducible inhibitory activity in biological assays. Some doubts remain about the validity of the assay results: The use of BSA was critical, since it is not unlikely that BSA “intercepted” the hydrophobic candidate compounds. The first strategy towards finding small-molecule dimerization inhibitors was reconsidered: In the second approach, the satisfaction of hydrogen bonding residues at the dimerization interface, was of major interest. Two pharmacophore models were employed, which retrieved several hundred hit molecules. However, docking of these molecules showed that still many hydrogen bonding groups of the protein remained unaddressed by the ligands. Eventually, after visual inspection, only eight molecules were selected as candidate compounds for further testing (results pending). This small “yield” underlines the difficulties in finding interface binders: The IN dimerization interface is a peculiar target with frequently alternating basic, acidic, and hydrophobic residues. It is not a well-ordered binding site with continuous hydrophobic areas and distinct hydrogen bond donors / acceptors. Other protein-protein interfaces show such well-ordered binding sites. Accordingly, the peculiarity of the IN dimerization interface, in addition to the delicate task of disrupting protein-protein interactions at all, makes the development of IN dimerization inhibitors very challenging. For MIP, the studies revealed two experimentally validated MIP inhibitors, which significantly reduce MIP enzymatic activity. To our knowledge, no small-molecule MIP inhibitor has been reported in the literature so far. A detailed analysis of the available structural data of MIP and a comparison to the human PPIase counterpart, FKBP12, pointed out a conformational diversity among the MIP structures and a crucial difference between the two PPIases, which could be traced to mainly one residue (Tyr109). The detailed comparison of FKBP12 and MIP complex structures made it possible to give an explanation, why a ketoacyl-substituted pipecoline derivative most probably does not bind to MIP, but a sulfone-substituted pipecoline derivative does bind to MIP. Knowledge of Legionella MIP inhibitors could be transferred also to other organisms (e.g. trypanosoms), where homologous MIP proteins are also pathological factors.

<p>The bacterial pathogen <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> modulates host immunity using effectors translocated by its Dot/Icm transporter to facilitate its intracellular replication. A number of these effectors employ diverse mechanisms to interfere with protein ubiquitination, a post-translational modification essential for immunity. Here, we have found that <i>L. pneumophila</i> induces monoubiquitination of the E2 enzyme UBE2N by its Dot/Icm substrate MavC(Lpg2147). Ubiquitination of UBE2N by MavC abolishes its activity in the formation of K63-linked polyubiquitin chains, which dampens NF-kB signaling in the initial phase of bacterial infection. The inhibition of UBE2N activity by MavC creates a conundrum because this E2 enzyme is important in multiple signaling pathways, including some that are important for intracellular <i>L. pneumophila</i> replication. Here we also show that the activity of UBE2N is restored by MvcA(Lpg2148), an ortholog of MavC. MvcA functions to deubiquitinate UBE2N-Ub using the same catalytic triad required for its deamidase activity. Structural analysis of the MvcA-UBE2N-Ub complex reveals a crucial role of the insertion domain in MvcA in substrate recognition. Our findings reveal that two remarkably similar proteins catalyze the forward and reverse reactions to impose temporal regulation of the activity of UBE2N during <i>L. pneumophila</i> infection.</p>

Legionella pneumophila, der Erreger der Legionärskrankheit, ist ein Umweltkeim mit Verbreitung in aquatischen Habitaten. Die Keime sind in der Lage, sich intrazellulär in eukaryontischen Zellen, wie Makrophagen, Monozyten und Protozoen zu vermehren. Die erfolgreiche Besiedlung ökologischer Nischen, aber auch das Virulenzpotential des Keimes können dabei von Umweltfaktoren abhängen. Die Erforschung ökologischer Zusammenhänge kann daher für das Verständnis der bakteriellen Virulenz von großer Bedeutung sein. Ausgangspunkt dieser Arbeit ist die in der späten stationären Phase des Bakterienwachstums von L. pneumophila zu beobachtende intensive Pigmentierung des Kulturmediums. Für diesen Phänotyp ist das Legiolysin (Lly) verantwortlich. Es ist eines der wenigen bekannten Genprodukte von L. pneumophila, die einen Einfluß auf das Überleben des Keimes in der Umwelt haben. Legiolysin kann daher als Fitnessfaktor bezeichnet werden. Um die ökologischen Zusammenhänge der Pigmentgenerierung näher zu untersuchen, wurde das lly-positive Plasmid pEWL 1 subkloniert und sequenziert. Neben lly konnten in diesem Genabschnitt durch Sequenzvergleiche der abgeleiteten Aminosäuresequenzen sechs weitere Leseraster detektiert werden. Die drei unmittelbar benachbarten Gene von lly kodieren dabei für Proteine mit Funktionalität in Bezug zur lly-Determinante, während die drei upstream von lly liegenden Leseraster Homologien zu Proteinen aufweisen, die an Transportprozessen beteiligt sind. Die Länge des RNA-Transkripts von lly konnte im Northern-Blot mit ungefähr 1,8 kb bestimmt werden und läßt damit auf die gemeinsame Transkription des lly-Gens mit dem unmittelbar upstream liegenden Leseraster schließen. Durch Sequenzanalysen konnte aufgezeigt werden, daß das für diesen Phänotyp verantwortliche Legiolysin-Gen für eine p-Hydroxyphenylpyruvat-Dioxygenase (HPPD) kodiert. Dieses Enzym katalysiert die Umsetzung von p-Hydroxyphenylpyruvat zu Homogentisat (HGA). In Zusammenarbeit mit Prof. P. Proksch (Pharmazeutische Biologie, Würzburg) konnte im Vergleich zu lly-negativen L. pneumophila- und rekombinanten E. coli-Stämmen in den Kulturüberständen von lly-positiven Stämmen auf Basis einer Hochdruck-Flüssigkeits-Chromatographie (HPLC) HGA nachgewiesen werden. Es konnte somit gezeigt werden, daß das Legiolysin-Gen für ein Protein mit HPPD- Aktivität kodiert, und in die Degradation der aromatischen Aminosäuren Phenylalanin und Tyrosin involviert ist. Des weiteren wurden chromosomale Integrationsmutationen der aus L. pneumophila stammenden Gene lly und mip ("macrophage infectivity potentiator") in E. coli K-12 Stämmen erstellt. Diese wurden nachfolgend in ökologisch ausgerichteten Langzeitstudien eingesetzt. Die chromosomale Integration von lly erfolgte als ortsspezifische Rekombination in die l att - site von E. coli WM 2269. Die Integration von mip erfolgte in die fim-Region des E. coli K-12-Stammes AAEC 160. Der zweite Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit befaßt sich mit ökologischen Studien zur Persistenz von L. pneumophila in der Umwelt. Durch die Bestrahlung mit Licht über einen Verlauf von sieben Tagen konnte gezeigt werden, daß die Exprimierung von lly zu einer Persistenz unter Lichtstreß führt. Dieser Lichtschutz könnte in der Umwelt, aber auch bei der Sanierung von Wasserleitungssystemen mittels UV-Licht Relevanz aufweisen. Die Assoziation von L. pneumophila JR32 und JR32-1 (lly-negativ) mit dem Cyanobakterium Fischerella wurde in Mikrokosmen über einen Verlauf von sieben Tagen beobachtet. Dabei konnte gezeigt werden, daß Legionella in Assoziation mit Fischerella bzw. in dessen Überstand zu persistieren vermag, während dies den Bakterien in frischem Fischerella-Medium nicht möglich war. Wie die Coinkubation der Fischerellen mit L. pneumophila JR32-1 zeigte, spielt die Expression von lly dabei keine Rolle. Ein Wachstum der Bakterienkulturen konnte weder im Fischerella-Überstand, noch in Fischerella-Medium beobachtet werden. Durch Rasterelektronenmikroskopie konnte der adhäsive Charakter der Assoziation von L. pneumophila zu Fischerella dokumentiert werden. Durch Persistenzstudien von L. pneumophila und E. coli in Boden wurde die Überlebensfähigkeit der Mikroorganismen in suboptimaler Umgebung getestet. Für Legionella ist eine rapide Abnahme der Zellzahl schon nach kurzer Zeit zu detektieren. Nach sechs Tagen konnten keine Zellen mehr kultiviert werden. Die Defizienz der Pathogenitäts- und Umweltfaktoren Mip, Fla (Flagellin) und Lly hatte dabei keinen Einfluß auf die Persistenz der Bakterien im Boden. Zudem sind die zuvor generierten rekombinanten E. coli-Klone AAEC 160-1 und WM 2269-1 mit genomischer mip- bzw. lly-Integration eingesetzt worden. Innerhalb von vier Wochen konnte für diese Stämme eine kontinuierliche Reduktion der Zellzahlen beobachtet werden. Somit erwies sich keiner der Organismen als erfolgreicher Besiedler der Bodenprobe. Die Studien zum Verlust der Kultivierbarkeit von L. pneumophila und E. coli erfolgten in autoklaviertem Leitungswasser bzw. PBS und zwei unterschiedlich behandelten Varianten von Mainwasser. Neben sterilfiltriertem Mainwasser fand die Inokulierung der Organismen auch in einem Ansatz mit autoklaviertem Mainwasser statt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, daß L. pneumophila in Leitungswasser und Mainwasser außerordentlich gut zu persistieren vermochte. Zudem konnte dokumentiert werden, daß auch E. coli DH5a in ein lebensfähiges, aber nicht mehr kultivierbares Ruhestadium (viable but nonculturable, VBNC) eintreten kann. Parallel zur Ermittlung der CFU-Werte wurden während des Verlaufs der Experimente die Lebendzellzahlen durch Fluoreszenzfärbungen bestimmt. Der Übergang von L. pneumophila in das VBNC-Ruhestadium wurde zudem durch in situ - Hybridisierungen mit fluoreszenzmarkierten 16 S rRNA-Oligonukleotidsonden dokumentiert. Im Naturhaushalt spielt dieser Übergang zu VBNC-Stadien bei Umweltbakterien zur Überwindung ungünstiger Phasen eine große Rolle. Schließlich erfolgten Experimente zur Reaktivierung der VBNC-Ruhestadien. Diese Reaktivierung ist abhängig von speziesspezifischen Triggern und kann bei L. pneumophila durch Coinkubation mit Acanthamoeba castellanii erfolgen. / Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of the Legionnaires' disease, is an environmental strain with a widespread distribution in aquatic habitats. Legionella are able to replicate intracellularly in eucaryotic cells, such as macrophages, monocytes and protozoa. The sucsessful colonization of ecological niches, but also the virulence potential of Legionella depends on environmental factors. Therefore the investigation of ecological context is expected to provide an understanding of bacterial virulence. The starting-point of this dissertation is the intensive pigmentation of the culture medium of L. pneumophila, witch could be observed in the late stationary phase of bacterial growth. The Legiolysin proteine (Lly) is responsible for this phenotype. This gene product of L. pneumophila is known to show an influence on the survival in the environment, which is why Legiolysin has been termed a fitness factor. In order to investigate the ecological connections of the pigmentation, the lly-positive plasmid pEWL 1 was subcloned and sequenced. In this genetic section six further open reading frames (ORF) could be detected besides lly by sequence comparison of the derived amino acid sequences. The three directly neighbouring genes of lly code for proteins which have functionality with regard to the lly-determinant. The three reading frames upstream of lly show homologies to proteins, which are involved in transport processes. The RNA transcript of lly could be determined by Northern blot with a lenght of about 1,8 kb. Therefore transcription of the lly gene together with the upstream ORF is suggested. It could be shown by sequence analysis, that the Legiolysine gene responsible for this phenotype, is coding for a p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD). This enzyme catalyzes the reaction of p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate to homogentisate (HGA). In collaboration with Prof. P. Proksch (Pharmazeutische Biologie, Würzburg) the existence of HGA was demonstrated in culture supernatants of lly-positive strains on the basis of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It could be shown, that the legiolysin gene is coding for a protein with a HPPD activity, and, therefore, is involved in the degradation of the aromatic amino acids Phenylalanine and Tyrosine. Additionally chromosomal integration mutants of the L. pneumophila genes lly and mip ("macrophage infectivity potentiator") were created in E. coli K-12 strains. These mutants were subsequently used in ecological long-time studies. The chromosomal integration of lly took place as a locus-specific recombination in the l att - site of E. coli WM 2269. The integration of mip happened in the fim-region of the E. coli strain AAEC 160. The second part of the present dissertation is concerned with ecological studies to the persistence of L. pneumophila in the environment. Accordingly, it could be shown, that the expression of lly leds to persistence to light-stress. This light protection could be relevant in the environment, but also during the sanitation of water pipes by UV-light. The association of L. pneumophila JR32 and JR32-1 (lly-negative) with the cyanobacterium Fischerella was observed in microcosms during a course of seven days. Legionella are able to persist in association with Fischerella, and in the Fischerella culture supernatant, respectively. Survival of the bacteria was not possible in fresh Fischerella medium. However, the expression of lly shows no difference, as could be shown by the coincubation of L. pneumophila with Fischerella. The growth of bacterial cultures cold neither be detected in supernatants of Fischerella, nor in fresh Fischerella medium. The adhesive character of the association of L. pneumophila with Fischerella could be documented by SEM (scanning electron microscopy). The survival of Legionella in suboptimal environment was tested by studying the persistence of L. pneumophila and E. coli in soil. A rapid decline of CFU (colony forming unit) for Legionella could be detected within a short time, as cells could not be cultivated any more after six days. The deficiency of the pathogenetic and enviromental factors Mip, Fla (Flagellin) and Lly had no influence on the persistence of the bacteria in the soil. Additionally the recombinant E. coli clones AAEC 160-1 and WM 2269-1 with the genomic mip and lly integrations, were used in this exreriments. During a course of four weeks, a continuous reduction of CFU could be observed for these strains. Therefore none of these organisms proved successful in colonization of soil samples. The studies regarding the loss of culturability of L. pneumophila and E. coli were made in autoclaved potable water and PBS (phosphate buffered saline), respectively, and in two variants of Main river water, one of which was autoclavedwhile the other one was sterilized by filtration. It could be shown, that L. pneumophila are able to persist well in potable water and in the river water. Additionally, not only L. pneumophila, but also E. coli DH5a entered a viable but nonculturable state (VBNC). During the course of these experiments, the numbers of live cells were determined by fluorescence dyes Moreover, the transition of L. pneumophila into the VBNC state was documented by in situ hybridization technique with fluorescence marked 16 S rRNA oligonucleotide probes (FISH). This transition into the VBNC state plays an important role to overcome unfavourable phases in natural environments. Finally experiments were made to reactivate the VBNC states. This resuscitation is dependent on species specific triggers and could be achieved by coincubation of L. pneumophila with the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii.

Ministerio de Industria y Energía (512/95 y 93/96) y Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico e Industrial (95-0161)

No presente trabalho faz-se uma revisão da literatura sobre pneumonia por Legionella pneumophila e se comparam estes dados com a série da autora, que se compõe de 10 casos esporádicos desta pneumonia, adquiridos na comunidade, ocorridos no perÍodo entre outubro de 1983 e maio de 1989. Todos os pacientes desta série eram do sexo masculino e de cor branca, com idade variando entre 36 e 71 anos. Os sintomas mais freqüentes foram febre alta, calafrios, cefaléia, tosse seca e mialgias. A hipótese diagnóstica baseou-se nos dados clínicos, radiológicos e laboratoriais. Em todos os casos o critério de comprovaçao diagnóstica foi a imunofluorescência indireta para Legionella. Salienta-se a importância do reconhecimento desta doença, que ainda apresenta um baixo Índice de suspeição em nosso meio. Procura-se tanto ressaltar os principais achados clínicos e radiológicos como também contribuir com orientações diagnósticas e terapêuticas. ApÓs a análise dos dados obtidos no trabalho, a autora concluiu que: 1. Os achados da série nao diferem daqueles descritos na literatura. 2. A casuística é restrita para o traçado de um perfil da doença no Rio Grande do Sul. 3. Quadros pneumônicos com má resposta clÍnica à penicilina ou derivados, associados a lesões radiolÓgicas com rápida mutabilidade, devem chamar a atenção para este diagnóstico. 4. A infreqüência deste diagnóstico em nosso meio deve-se ao baixo Índice de suspeição. Logo, a divulgação de informações sobre a doença pode resultar em substancial acréscimo ao registro de casos. / In the present work a review is made on the 1iterature about pneumonia by Legione11a pneumophi1a and the data are compared with the series presenteà by the author, composed of 10 sporadic cases of this pneumonia, acquired in the community, October, 1983 and May, 1989. between A11 the patients of this group were ma1e, caucasian, age varying from 36 to 71. The most frequent symptoms were high fever, chills, headache, dry cough and myalgia. The diagnostic hypothesis was baseà on laboratory, radiological and clinicai data. For all the cases, the criterion for diagnostic comprovation was indirect immunofluorescence for Legionella. The importance of the recognition of this disease s emphasized for it still shows a very low 1evel of suspicion in Rio Grande do Sul. The author looks for to ernphazise the main clinicai and radiological findings as well as contributes with diagnostics and therapeutical orientations. After the analysis of the data obtained in the present work the author concludes that: 1. The findings of this series does no differ from those described in the 1iterature. 2. The casuistic is too restricted to draw a profile of the disease in Rio Grande do Sul. 3. Pneumonias with bad clinicai response to penicillin or its derivatives, associated with radiologic lesions with rapid mutability shall call the attention for this diagnosis. 4. The low frequency of this diagnosis in our country is due to the low index of suspicion. Thus, the divulgation of information about the disease could result in substantial increase in the record of new cases.

Legionella se identificó por primera vez en 1976. Es una bacteria ampliamente distribuida en la naturaleza, siendo su nicho natural el medio acuático. Es responsable del 3-15% de las neumonías adquiridas en la comunidad y es, asimismo, causa frecuente de neumonía intrahospitalaria. En primer lugar, se han evaluado nuevas técnicas de detección de antígeno y al comparar los resultados de la técnica EIA de Bartels con el EIA de Binax, hemos observado que la sensibilidad en muestras de orina no concentrada es mayor con esta nueva técnica sin deterioro de la especificidad. En el caso de la orina concentrada, ambas técnicas muestran una elevada sensibilidad y un 100% de especificidad, ofreciendo por lo tanto una alternativa al EIA Binax cuando se realiza en orina no concentrada. En el caso de la ICT Uni-Gold LUA es también una alternativa en el diagnóstico de la legionelosis, reduciendo el tiempo si lo comparamos con las técnicas de EIA y con unos resultados comparables a la ICT de Binax. Recientemente, se ha podido evaluar una segunda versión de esta nueva ICT (Uni-Gold LUA plus) que ofrece unos valores de sensibilidad y especificidad iguales a la ICT de Binax tanto en orina no concentrada como en orina concentrada. En segundo lugar se han estandarizado técnicas de concentración. El tiempo necesario para concentrar una muestra de orina, para la posterior detección de antígeno por ultrafiltración pasiva es de 1 a 3 horas, por ese motivo evaluamos una nueva técnica de concentración por centrifugación disminuyendo el tiempo a unos 15-20 minutos. La concordancia global entre las dos técnicas de concentración fue del 100%. Este sistema permite reducir drásticamente el tiempo en el diagnóstico de la legionelosis mediante detección de antígeno.Al utilizar el EIA de Binax para cuantificar la concentración de antígeno presente en las muestras de orina de pacientes con legionelosis hemos observado que en los pacientes en que se resolvió completamente la neumonía la cantidad de antígeno presente en orina disminuyó significativamente a los 3-6 días respecto a la concentración de antígeno presente en el momento del ingreso (p<0.0001). En cambio en los pacientes con peor evolución y en aquellos que fallecerion la disminución de carga antigénica en orina no fue significativa. Los resultados de este estudio sugieren una correlación entre una mayor concentración de antígeno y una peor evolución de los pacientes. En esta tesis, también se incluye la evaluación de una técnica inmunológica de detección de antígeno en muestras ambientales para su utilización en el cribaje medioambiental. Se estudiaron muestras de agua artificiales en las que se inoculó Legionella y muestras de agua procedentes de sistemas de agua doméstica y de torres de refrigeración. En nuestro estudio, en las muestras de agua artificial el EIA de Bartels fue capaz de detectar antígeno de todos los serogrupos, aunque mostró una mayor sensibilidad para L. pneumophila serogrupo 1. El límite de detección en agua artificial para el serogrupo 1 fue de 780 ufc/ml en el agua original antes de la filtración. Dado que los brotes de legionelosis suelen ir vinculados a una amplificación de los niveles de Legionella en los sistemas de agua y que durante un brote son necesarias una rápida identificación y descontaminación del sistema de agua colonizado, la detección de antígeno mediante EIA podría ser útil como un método rápido de cribado para analizar un alto número de muestras.Finalmente, la tesis se completa con la evaluación de técnicas de secuenciación para la identificación a nivel de especie del género Legionella y de tipaje molecular intraespecífico. El objetivo del estudio fue optimizar la identificación de cepas de Legionella mediante la secuenciación del gen mip. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la identificación de Legionella spp. mediante la secuenciación de este gen es una técnica sólida, y que la mayoría de los laboratorios son capaces de reproducir y de dar un resultado correcto. Actualmente, la necesidad de disponer de métodos de caracterización molecular que ofrezcan resultados rápidos y reproducibles, con la posibilidad de ser compartidos en tiempo real por diferentes laboratorios, ha llevado al desarrollo de métodos de secuenciación de genes basados en técnicas de MLST y ha sido empleada para la tipificación molecular de L. pneumophila serogrupo 1. Los resultados obtenidos con el estudio de seis genes, flaA, pilE, asd, mip, mompS y proA, son muy prometedores. / Legionella was first identified in 1976. This bacterium's natural environment is the aquatic means, where it is widely extended. It is responsible for 3 to 15% of in the community-acquired pneumonia cases and a frequent cause of in-hospital developed pneumonia. Firstly, new antigen detection techniques have been evaluated. A comparison between the results of the Bartels EIA technique and the Binax EIA technique has resulted in the new technique showing a higher sensitivity in non-concentrated urine specimens, without any specificity deterioration. As to what regards concentrated urine specimens, they show a high degree of sensitivity and 100% specificity with both techniques; therefore the Bartels EIA technique may well be a good alternative to the Binax EIA when testing non-concentrated urine specimens. Regarding the ICT Uni-Gold LUA, has also proven to be a good alternative in diagnosing legionellosis as it shows to be time-saving if compared to the EIA techniques; the results obtained are also comparable to those obtained with the Binax ICT. A second version of this new ICT (Uni-Gold LUA plus) has recently been tested and it shows sensitivity and specificity values equal to those obtained with the Binax ICT in concentrated as well as in non-concentrated urine specimens. Secondly, concentration techniques have been standardized. The time necessary to concentrate a urine specimen in order to detect the antigen by using passive ultrafiltration is 1 to 3 hours. A new concentration technique using centrifugation reduces this time to 15-20 minutes. There was 100% global match between both concentration techniques. Therefore this technique makes it possible to drastically reduce the time needed to diagnose legionellosis through antigen detection. The use of Binax EIA in order to quantify the antigen concentration present in urine specimens from patients suffering from legionellosis has shown that in patients whose pneumonia pathology was totally resolved the antigen levels present in their urine were significantly reduced after 3-6 days if compared to the antigen levels measured at the admission (p<0.0001). However, those patients experiencing a worsening of their condition and those who eventually died presented a non-significant lowering of the antigenic levels. The results of this essay suggest a correlation between higher antigen concentration levels and a negative development of the pneumonia pathology.This study also includes the evaluation of an immunologic technique for detection of antigens in environmental samples in order to use them in environmental sieve. Artificial water samples where Legionella was inoculated were studied, as well as water samples coming from domestic water systems and from refrigeration towers. The Bartels EIA used in the study allowed to detect the antigen of all serogroups although it showed a greater sensitivity towards L. pneumophila, serogroup 1. The detection limit for serogroup 1 in artificial water samples was a level of 780 ufc/ml in the original sample before filtration. Due to the fact that the appearance of legionellosis is usually connected to an increase in the levels of Legionella in the water systems and due to the need to quickly identify and decontaminate the colonized water system, the identification of antigen levels through EIA could be a quick sieving method in order to analyse a high number of samples. The study is finalized by evaluating sequencing techniques that will allow the identification of the Legionella gender at species level as well as its intraspecific molecular tipification. The objective of this investigation is to optimize the identification of Legionella strains through sequencing the mip gene. The results obtained show that identifying Legionella spp. through sequencing its gene is a solid technique that the majority of laboratories can use and that provides correct scores. At present, the need to have molecular characterization methods that offer quick and easy to reproduce results that can be shared in real time by different laboratories has resulted in the development of gene sequencing methods based on MLST techniques which have been used to carry out a molecular tipification of the L. pneumophila, serogroup 1. The results obtained after studying six genes, flaA, pile, asd, mip, mompS and proA are very encouraging.

Reproduction de : Thèse de doctorat : Microbiologie de l'eau : Poitiers : 2008. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. 110 réf.

Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease (LD), is an intracellular pathogen of freshwater protozoa that can also persist in the environment as a free-living bacterium. L. pneumophila has many morphological forms that fit within a developmental cycle. In water, L. pneumophila enters into a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state that is largely uncharacterized. VBNC cells were produced from two developmental L. pneumophila forms, stationary phase forms (SPFs) and mature infectious forms (MIFs) by suspension in double deionized (dd) or tap-water at 45°C. Electron microscopy results showed that VBNC cells have a unique morphology and that in tap water they lose their poly 3-hydroxybutyrate inclusion bodies. Both SPFs and MIFs lost culturability faster in dd- than in tap water, and addition of salts to dd-water prolonged L. pneumophila culturability and enhanced viability. However, MIFs retained higher viability in dd- and tap water (85% and 51%, respectively) than SPFs (5% and 20%, respectively) as determined by the BacLight vital stain. Only ~1 VBNC cell out of 105 of those produced from SPFs in tap water regained culturability via infection of Acanthamoeba. All VBNC cells, except for those produced from SPFs in dd-water, resisted both digestion inside Tetrahymena spp. and detergent-mediated lysis. SDS-PAGE analysis and shotgun proteomics revealed a number of VBNC cell specific proteins; one of these was 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BdhA), which is involved in the metabolism of poly 3-hydroxybutyrate inclusion bodies. A bdhA mutant showed an early loss of culturability and a dramatic decrease in viability as compared to the parent strain, and complementing the mutant with a functional bdhA gene restored the parent's strain phenotypes. In conclusion, VBNC L. pneumophila has a distinct morphology and physiology that varies according to the developmental stage and the environmental conditions used to produce such VBNC cells. VBNC cells have a different protein profile and morphology than the culturable cells, suggesting that this state constitutes a distinct differentiated form within the developmental cycle of L. pneumophila. BdhA seems to influence L. pneumophila survival and hence VBNC cell formation. Collectively, the results from this study provide a better understanding of L. pneumophila VBNC form and the factors influencing its formation.