<p>Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common disease in childhood and is one of the most common causes for outpatient antibiotic treatment. The major aetiological agents of AOM have varied over the decades. Now the three most common pathogens are <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i>, <i>Haemophilus influenzae</i> and <i>Moraxella catarrhalis</i>. The resistance patterns of these organisms have also varied from the beginning of the antibiotic era to the situation we have today with an increasing incidence of penicillin-resistant <i>S. pneumoniae</i> and a moderate to high frequency of beta-lactamase production in <i>H. influenzae</i> and <i>M. catarrhalis</i>. In Sweden we have continued to use the Scandinavian treatment policy of penicillins as the first-line antibiotic treatment of AOM, which has been implemented with good results in the past. The question is if this policy will continue to have acceptable treatment results.</p><p>In order to investigate aspects of treatment, protection and structural changes in AOM, an animal model was used.</p><p>Amoxicillin treatment of AOM caused by <i>H. influenzae</i> was studied. Amoxicillin treatment was shown to shorten the duration of the infection and to reduce the morphological changes normally observed after an untreated AOM. The influence of antibiotic treatment on recurrent AOM was evaluated. Amoxicillin treatment did not lead to less protection against reinfection. Abstaining from antibiotics did not improve the levels of serum IgG antibodies. The IgG levels were significantly higher in treated animals after rechallenge. AOM caused by <i>H</i>. <i>influenzae</i> with a non-beta-lactamase-mediated resistance to beta-lactams was investigated and it was observed that during amoxicillin treatment the chromosomal changes mediating resistance were possibly advantageous for the bacterium. In cultures from children with AOM, there is sometimes growth of several bacteria. The possibility of a sheltering effect of beta-lactamase-producing <i>H. influenzae</i> on a penicillin-sensitive <i>S. pneumoniae</i> in a mixed infection was investigated, and amoxicillin was shown to eradicate the pneumococci from the middle ear despite the presence of beta-lactamase. An increasingly cultured bacterium in nasopharynx and in AOM is <i>M. catarrhalis</i>. It is now beta-lactamase-producing in almost 100% of cases and is thus not eradicated by penicillins. An animal model of AOM caused by beta-lactamase-producing <i>M. catarrhalis</i> was established to study the course of this infection with the possibility of evaluating aspects of virulence between AOM pathogens. The AOM observed was a self-limiting disease.</p><p>The results obtained in this study in a rat model support the continuing use of penicillins as first-line drugs in the treatment of AOM. Penicillins are not sufficient to treat all causative agents, but the majority of pathogens including the most virulent bacteria are eradicated from the middle ear. </p>

DNA mismatch repair ensures faithful transmission of genetic material from parents to progeny, which is required for the survival of the organism. The studies on E. coli MMR proteins have formed the basis for the study of the MMR system in eukaryotic organisms, because the functions of MMR proteins believed to be been conserved. In organisms that harbor MutH protein, it is known that MutH acts as a monomer which nicks the unmethylated daughter strand and is activated in a MutS-MutL- dependent manner. The cleavage specificity of MutH is very stringent. Till recently, it was not clear as to how MutH distinguishes hemimethylated DNA from fully or unmethylated DNA. The co-crystal structures of MutH-DNA complexes revealed that Y212, R184 and P185 were in close proximity to the methyl-adenine. Clustal-W sequence alignment of MutH with Sau3AI showed that Sau3AI has PCT residues instead of L183, R184, and P185. A triple mutant MutH-L183P-R184C-P185T was found to cleave both unmethylated and methylated DNA. The nicking endonuclease activity of the LRP→ PCT triple mutant was enhanced in the presence of Haemophilus influenzae MutL. The mutL gene of Neisseria gonorrhoeae was cloned and the gene product purified. It was shown that the homodimeric Neisseria gonorrhoeae MutL (NgoL) protein displays an endonuclease activity that incises covalently closed circular DNA in the presence of manganese or magnesium or calcium ions unlike human MutLα which shows endonuclease activity only in the presence of manganese. Further more the C-terminal domain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae MutL (NgoL-CTD) consisting of amino acids 460 to 658 also exhibits Mn2+ dependent endonuclease activity. Sedimentation velocity, sedimentation equilibrium and dynamic light scattering experiments show NgoL-CTD to be a dimer. By in vitro comparison of wild-type and a mutant NgoL-CTD protein, it was shown that the latter protein exhibits highly reduced endonuclease activity. Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy was used to determine the kinetics of DNA binding by NgoL. The DNA binding was carried out in absence of metal ions. Interaction studies with NgoL with ssDNA in SPR spectroscopy revealed a KD value of 4.7 × 10–8 M. While the human MutLα endonuclease activity was shown to be stimulated by ATP, ATP inhibits NgoL endonuclease activity. By in vitro comparison of wild-type and a mutant NgoL-CTD protein, it was shown that the latter protein exhibits highly reduced endonuclease activity. NgoL ATPase activity was enhanced in the presence of DNA. The fact that NgoL ATPase activity is stimulated ~ 2.5-fold by dsDNA and ~ 2-fold by ssDNA is a further evidence for the interaction between NgoL and DNA. The results presented above show that NgoL harbors a nicking endonuclease activity which is present in the C-terminal domain. NgoL and NgoL-CTD are dimers in solution and DMHA(X)2E(X)4E motif present in the CTD is required for the nicking endonuclease activity. These results suggest that DNA mismatch repair mechanism in N. gonorrhoeae is different from that in E. coli. In the absence of MutH homolog, N. gonorrhoeae is able to repair the DNA by virtue of MutL nicking endonuclease activity.

Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common disease in childhood and is one of the most common causes for outpatient antibiotic treatment. The major aetiological agents of AOM have varied over the decades. Now the three most common pathogens are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis. The resistance patterns of these organisms have also varied from the beginning of the antibiotic era to the situation we have today with an increasing incidence of penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae and a moderate to high frequency of beta-lactamase production in H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis. In Sweden we have continued to use the Scandinavian treatment policy of penicillins as the first-line antibiotic treatment of AOM, which has been implemented with good results in the past. The question is if this policy will continue to have acceptable treatment results. In order to investigate aspects of treatment, protection and structural changes in AOM, an animal model was used. Amoxicillin treatment of AOM caused by H. influenzae was studied. Amoxicillin treatment was shown to shorten the duration of the infection and to reduce the morphological changes normally observed after an untreated AOM. The influence of antibiotic treatment on recurrent AOM was evaluated. Amoxicillin treatment did not lead to less protection against reinfection. Abstaining from antibiotics did not improve the levels of serum IgG antibodies. The IgG levels were significantly higher in treated animals after rechallenge. AOM caused by H. influenzae with a non-beta-lactamase-mediated resistance to beta-lactams was investigated and it was observed that during amoxicillin treatment the chromosomal changes mediating resistance were possibly advantageous for the bacterium. In cultures from children with AOM, there is sometimes growth of several bacteria. The possibility of a sheltering effect of beta-lactamase-producing H. influenzae on a penicillin-sensitive S. pneumoniae in a mixed infection was investigated, and amoxicillin was shown to eradicate the pneumococci from the middle ear despite the presence of beta-lactamase. An increasingly cultured bacterium in nasopharynx and in AOM is M. catarrhalis. It is now beta-lactamase-producing in almost 100% of cases and is thus not eradicated by penicillins. An animal model of AOM caused by beta-lactamase-producing M. catarrhalis was established to study the course of this infection with the possibility of evaluating aspects of virulence between AOM pathogens. The AOM observed was a self-limiting disease. The results obtained in this study in a rat model support the continuing use of penicillins as first-line drugs in the treatment of AOM. Penicillins are not sufficient to treat all causative agents, but the majority of pathogens including the most virulent bacteria are eradicated from the middle ear.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Linköpings universitet, 2005. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Haemophilus influenzae is a pathogenic Gram-negative bacterium that colonizes the upper respiratory tract of humans and can cause otitis media, upper and lower respiratory infections, and meningitis. Factors important for H. influenzae to colonize humans and cause disease are not fully understood. Different bacterial pathogens are armed with virulence mechanisms unique to their specific strategies for interacting with their hosts. Many of the proteins mediating these interactions are secreted and contain disulfide bonds required for function or stability. I postulated that identifying the set of secreted proteins in H. influenzae that require periplasmic disulfide bonds would provide better understanding of this bacterium's pathogenic mechanisms. In this thesis, the periplasmic disulfide bond oxidoreductase protein, DsbA, was found to be essential for colonization and virulence of H. influenzae. Mutants of dsbA were also found to be sensitive to the bactericidal effects of serum. However, the DsbA-dependent proteins important for pathogenesis of this organism have not been previously identified. To find them, putative targets of the periplasmic disulfide bond pathway were identified and examined for factors which might be important for mediating critical virulence aspects. By doing so, novel virulence factors were discovered including those important for heme and zinc acquisition, as well as resistance to complement. Overall, the work presented here provides insight into requirements for H. influenzae to survive within various host environments.

No description available.

Haemophilus influenzae encounters niches within the human host that are predicted to differ in availability of oxygen and reactive nitrogen species (RNS: nitrite and nitric oxide), which influence the environmental redox state. Previously reported data has indicated that an altered redox condition could serve as a signal recognized by H. influenzae to optimize its survival within host microenvironments. To elucidate the role of redox signaling in virulence, we examined regulation by the FNR homolog of H. influenzae, whose counterpart in E. coli has been reported to be a direct oxygen sensor and a regulator of genes responsible for RNS metabolism and resistance. Many members of the FNR regulon are subject to coordinated transcriptional control by NarP, a regulator in E. coli that is activated by cognate sensor NarQ in response to environmental nitrite. To study the regulatory activities of FNR and NarQ-NarP in H. influenzae, I targeted a gene predicted to be FNR-regulated, nrfA, which encodes nitrite reductase, a periplasmic cytochrome-c involved in anaerobic respiration. The fnr, narP and nrfA mutants were assayed for nitrite reduction, which implicated the roles of FNR, NarP and NrfA in RNS metabolism. Using Western blot detection of an epitope-tagged reporter protein fused to the endogenous nrf promoter (Pnrf-HA), I demonstrate that FNR and NarP, but not NarQ, are required for full activation of the nrf promoter. Additionally, Pnrf-HA expression increases as oxygen becomes depleted and decreases when exposed to high concentrations of nitrite, implying that the nrfpromoter is modulated by environmental redox signals. FNR of E. coli has been implicated in regulation of resistance mechanisms to a reactive nitrogen species, nitric oxide (NO), which is produced by innate immune cells during infection as a host defense mechanism. A mutant lacking FNR is more sensitive to NO exposure and killing by activated macrophages than wild type H. influenzae after anaerobic pre-growth. Mutants of nrfA and narP have been tested and initial experiments have shown both mutants have a lesser NO sensitivity phenotype as compared to the fnr mutant, suggesting that other factors could be involved in FNR-mediated NO resistance in H. influenzae. Upon examination of potential factors that might be involved to this phenotype, we discovered FNR-regulated gene, ytfE, which contributes to defense against nitrosative stress. The fnr and ytfE mutants are more susceptible to killing by activated macrophages indicating that FNR regulation of ytfE might be important for in vivo infection.

Orientador: Marcelo Lancellotti / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T23:59:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrade_AliceTavaresReis_M.pdf: 3292132 bytes, checksum: ee5318f5b87992964c9d97bedc343f00 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Em 1998, foi relatada a transferência lateral do gene sodC do gênero Haemophilus para a espécie Neisseria meningitidis. Sabe-se que, nestes dois grupos a dinâmica deste gene é bastante distinta. Este trabalho tem por objetivo estimar árvores filogenéticas que possam apontar qual a espécie do gênero Haemophilus compartilhou o gene sodC com a espécie N. meningitidis. Testes de seleção positiva foram empregados no intuito de avaliar quais forças evolutivas estão subjacentes ao processo de diversificação molecular do gene nestas espécies ao longo do tempo. Além disso, foi realizada uma modelagem protéica computacional por homogia para avaliar quais substituições de aminoácidos tinham impacto no processo adaptativo da enzima nas espécies consideradas. Ao se reconstruir uma filogenia para o gene sodC, foi constatado que a origem deste gene na espécie H. influenzae é distinta. Um grupo de linhagens recebeu o gene, provavelmente por transferência lateral, da espécie H. haemolyticus, enquanto o outro grupo recebeu o gene da espécie H. parainfluenzae. Neste grupo, o gene sofreu pseudogeneização. Foi observado também que as sequências de N. meningitidis agrupam com as sequências que compartilham um ancestral comum com a espécie H. haemolyticus, porém as sequências do meningococo formam um ramo distinto dentro deste clado. Dada à alta clonalidade das sequências de N. meningitidis, foi constatado que o evento de transferência lateral de genes foi muito recente na escala do tempo. O teste de seleção positiva demonstrou que seleção positiva está atuando especificamente no ramo da árvore que compartilha um ancestral comum com a espécie H. haemolyticus, através da modificação de uma alanina por uma serina na posição 72, embora a nota geral da árvore tenha sido menor que 1. Sabe-se que pseudogenes, por não codificarem uma proteína ativa e, portanto, por não estarem sob nenhum tipo de restrição funcional, estão sob uma ação maior da deriva genética. Portanto, diferentes forças evolutivas estão governando a evolução deste gene nas espécies consideradas. A modelagem protéica concluiu que tal modificação contribuiu para o aumento do potencial redox do sítio ativo. Desta forma, a ação da seleção positiva sob um único resíduo de aminoácido foi benéfica para a função da enzima como um todo / Abstract: In 1998, it was reported the lateral transfer of the sodC gene from the genus Haemophilus to Neisseria meningitidis. It is known that this two groups show a quite distinct dynamics of this gene. This study aims to estimate phylogenetic trees that might point to which species of the genus Haemophilus shared the sodC gene with N. meningitidis. In addition, tests of positive selection were employed in order to assess which evolutionary forces are governing the process of molecular diversification of the gene in these species through time. Moreover, we performed a computational protein modeling by homology to asses which amino acids substitutions had an impact on the adaptative process of the enzyme in the species considered. A phylogeny of the sodC gene was reconstructed and it was found that this gene in H. influenzae has two different origins. A group of lineages has received the gene, probably by lateral transfer, from H. haemolyticus, whereas the other group has received the gene from H. parainfluenzae. In the latter, the gene has become a pseudogene. It was also observed that the sequences from N. meningitides group together with those sequences that share a common ancestor with H. haemolyticus, but they form a distinct branch within this clade. Given the high clonality of the sequences from N. meningitidis, it was found that the lateral gene transfer event is very recent in the time scale. A test of positive selection showed that positive selection is acting specifically in the branch that shares a common ancestor with H. haemolyticus through the substitution of an alanine to a serine at position 72, though the overall score of the tree is less than one. It is known that pseudogenes do not encode active proteins and therefore they are not under any kind of functional constraints, so they are under greater influence of genetic drift. Thus, it was concluded that different forces are driving the evolution of this gene in the species considered here. Protein modeling concluded that this modification contributed to the increase in the redox potencial of the active site. Thus the action of positive selection under a single amino acid residue was beneficial to the function of the enzyme as whole / Mestrado / Bioquimica / Mestra em Biologia Funcional e Molecular

La Broncho-Pneumopathie Chronique Obstructive (BPCO) est une maladie pulmonaire inflammatoire consécutive à l'exposition chronique à la pollution atmosphérique et surtout au tabagisme dans environ 90% des cas. Cette maladie se caractérise par une obstruction des bronches due à une hypersécrétion de mucus, une hypertrophie des muscles lisses, ainsi qu’une destruction de la paroi des alvéoles respiratoires amenant le patient à l’emphysème. Le stress induit par la fumée de cigarette provoque une activation de la barrière épithéliale pulmonaire associée à une altération de la réponse immunitaire responsable d’une susceptibilité accrue aux infections pulmonaires. De ce fait, les patients atteints de cette maladie développent des exacerbations principalement liées à ces infections bactériennes en particulier à Non-Typable Haemophilus influenza (NTHi) et Streptoccocus pneumoniae (Sp).La cytokine IL-22 est un acteur très important des défenses antibactériennes et du maintien de la barrière épithéliale. Cette cytokine appartient à la grande famille de l’IL-10, et à la sous-famille des cytokines IL-20 composée de l’IL-19, l’IL-20 et l’IL-24. L’IL-22 se lie au récepteur formé par les sous-unités IL-10Rb et IL-22Ra, tandis que les cytokines IL-19, IL-20 et IL-24 utilisent deux récepteurs associant l’IL-20Rb avec l’IL-20Ra ou l’IL-22Ra. Il a été démontré que les cytokines de la famille IL-20 (IL-19, IL-20, IL-24) agissent sur la clairance bactérienne au cours d’une infection cutanée par Staphylococcus aureus (Myles et al., 2013), en inhibant la production des cytokines IL-17 et IL-22. De plus, des précédents travaux au laboratoire, ont montré un défaut de l’expression des cytokines IL-17 et IL-22 qui participaient à la susceptibilité à l’infection chez les souris atteintes de BPCO (Pichavant et al., 2015). Enfin, nos données actuelles montrent que l'exposition à la fumée de cigarette augmente l'expression des cytokines de la famille IL-20 et que l'inhibition de cette voie permet de bloquer le développement d'épisodes d'exacerbation chez des souris BPCO.L'objectif de cette thèse est de préciser le rôle des cytokines IL-20 dans la réponse à l'infection bactérienne (Sp, NTHi) tant dans un contexte physiologique qu'au cours d’un contexte mimant la BPCO. Pour cela, nous nous focaliserons sur le rôle de l’épithélium pulmonaire tant dans la production que dans la fonction de ces cytokines en contexte infectieux.Pour répondre à ces questions, nous avons analysé l’expression des cytokines IL-20 par l’épithélium pulmonaire in vitro et ex vivo dans un modèle murin mimant l’exacerbation de la BPCO ainsi que dans des biopsies pulmonaires de patients fumeurs atteints ou non de BPCO. Dans un second temps nous avons évalué la modulation par un anticorps bloquant le récepteur des cytokines IL-20 (anti-IL-20Rb) au cours de la réponse anti-infectieuse de l'épithélium dans nos modèles in vivo (souris infectées par Sp) et in vitro (cellules épithéliales de trachées murines). Nous avons en parallèle évalué l'implication des cytokines IL-20 dans la réparation épithéliale.L’ensemble des résultats acquis au cours de la thèse nous a permis de démontrer l'implication des cytokines IL-20 et de préciser leur rôle sur l’épithélium pulmonaire au cours de l'infection bactérienne ainsi que dans la pathologie de la BPCO. De plus, les résultats obtenus avec l’anticorps neutralisant anti-IL-20Rb dans ces contextes d’infections et de BPCO, font de celui-ci une potentielle piste thérapeutique pour le traitement des lésions dues à l’infection. / Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an inflammatory lung disease due to chronic exposure to air pollution and especially to cigarette smoke exposure in approximately 90% of the cases. This disease is characterized by obstruction of the bronchi due to hypersecretion of mucus, hypertrophy of the smooth muscles, and destruction of the alveolar wall leading the patient to emphysema. The stress induced by cigarette smoke exposure causes activation of resident cells including pulmonary epithelial cells and an alteration of the immune system responsible for an increased susceptibility to pulmonary infections. As a result, patients with this disease develop exacerbations especially du to Non-Typable Haemophilus influenza (NTHi) and Streptoccocus pneumoniae (Sp).The IL-22 cytokine plays a key role in antibacterial defenses and maintenance of the epithelial barrier. This cytokine belongs to the large IL-10 family, and to the IL-20 cytokine subfamily also including IL-19, IL-20 and IL-24. IL-22 binds to the receptor formed by the IL-10Rb and IL-22Ra subunits, while the IL-19, IL-20 and IL-24 cytokines binds to IL-20Rb associated with either IL-20Ra or IL-22Ra subunits. IL-20 cytokines (IL-19, IL-20, IL-24) have been shown to impair bacterial clearance during cutaneous infection with Staphylococcus aureus (Myles et al., 2013), by inhibiting the production of IL-17 and IL-22 cytokines. In addition, previous work in the laboratory showed a defect in the expression of IL-17 and IL-22 cytokines contributing to the susceptibility to infection in COPD mice (Pichavant et al., 2015). In fact, our current data show that exposure to cigarette smoke increases cytokine expression of the IL-20 family and that inhibition of this pathway blocks the development of exacerbation episodes in COPD mice.The aim of this thesis is to clarify the role of IL-20 cytokines in the response to bacterial infections (Sp, NTHi) both in a physiological context and in a context mimicking COPD. To do so, we will focus on the role of pulmonary epithelium both in the production and function of these cytokines in infectious context.To answer these questions, we analyzed the expression of IL-20 cytokines by pulmonary epithelium in vitro and ex vivo in a mouse model mimicking the COPD exacerbation as well as in pulmonary biopsies of smokers and non-smokers patients and of COPD patients. In a second step we evaluated the modulation by an IL-20 receptor blocking antibody (anti-IL-20Rb) of the anti-infectious response in our in vitro (murine tracheal epithelial cells) and in vivo models (Sp-infected mice). In parallel, we evaluated the involvement of IL-20 cytokines in the epithelial repair.All the results acquired during the thesis allowed us to demonstrate the expression of IL-20 cytokines and to demonstrate their role on the pulmonary epithelium during bacterial infection as well as in COPD. In addition, the results obtained with the anti-IL-20Rb neutralizing antibody in these contexts of infections and COPD, suggests a potential therapeutic application for respiratory infection.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in both children and older adults, with infection resulting in invasive disease, pneumonia and otitis media. The inclusion of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in routine infant immunisation programmes has had a major impact on disease rates. Vaccine-induced protection against pneumococcal infection is thought to be mediated by the generation of persistent serotype-specific functional antibodies and antigen-specific memory B cells, the latter capable of generating a rapid secondary antibody response on re-exposure to antigen. Although many studies have investigated the immunogenicity of pneumococcal vaccines in different age groups by measuring serotype-specific antibodies, there is more limited information about the B cells underlying such an immune response. Important areas to investigate include the identity of the B cell subsets involved in antibody production and the potential link between memory B cells (B_MEM) and persistent antibody production by long-lived plasma cells. In this thesis I have investigated in detail the immune response to pneumococcal vaccines given to children and adults by a variety of different methods. By examining the variability of a B_MEM ELISpot method, it was shown that this assay is robust and reproducible and can be performed on fresh or frozen samples and in different laboratories. Using this technique, in a study of pre-school children, it was demonstrated for the first time that the level of pre-existing serotype 3-specific antibody is negatively correlated with, and may directly impair the B_MEM response to a booster dose of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) containing serotype 3 glycoconjugate. In the same study, it was shown that antibody persistence against most vaccine serotypes can be expected until the age of 3.5 years. A novel antigen-labelling technique was used in a detailed kinetics study of antigen-specific B cell subsets in response to either PCV-13 or 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in adults. The results of this study revealed distinct B cell subset response patterns that were observed in all study participants indicating that IgM B_MEM seem to play a major role in the immune response to pneumococcal vaccines. In addition, in the same study, genome wide analysis of gene expression was performed and it was shown that vaccination with either a pneumococcal conjugate or polysaccharide vaccine results in a marked difference in numbers of differentially expressed genes 8 days following vaccination. A further tool likely to be of use in investigating B cell responses is the analysis of the antibody repertoire using next-generation sequencing techniques. In order to test the ability of these methods to detect vaccine responses, a large dataset of high-throughput B cell receptor sequences was analysed and revealed convergence of antigen-specific complementary-determining region (CDR)₃ amino acid (AA) sequences following vaccination and identified antigen-specific sequences. It was further demonstrated that for sequences directed against the H. influenzae type b (Hib) polysaccharide, diversity of immunoglobulin gene rearrangements is much greater than previously recognised. Frequencies of Hib-specific CDR₃ AA sequences were linked with anti-Hib avidity indices highlighting the potential of this method as an alternative (functional) measure of vaccine immunogenicity. These data suggest that studying the B cells and antibody repertoire post-vaccination can give novel insights into the biology that underlies the immune responses.