A tuberculose (TB) é uma das maiores causas de mortalidade em todo o mundo por um único agente infeccioso. Segundo a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), todos os anos cerca de 8 milhões de pessoas são infectadas pelo Mycobacterium tuberculosis, o agente etiológico da TB, e aproximadamente 2 milhões morrem em todo mundo. Desde a década de 80, o aumento da prevalência da TB em países em desenvolvimento, o aumento e a proliferação de cepas resistentes a múltiplas drogas, a falta de recursos públicos adequados para o tratamento e a alta incidência de pacientes infectados pelo HIV, destacou a necessidade de desenvolver novos agentes antimicobacterianos. A via do ácido chiquímico ou chiquimato está presente em bactérias, algas, fungos, plantas e parasitas do filo apicomplexa. Esta via leva a biossíntese de corismato, um importante precursor metabólico de ácido fólico, menaquinonas, micobactinas e aminoácidos aromáticos. A primeira reação na biossíntese de fenilalanina é catalizada pela corismato mutase e involve a conversão de corismato a prefenato. A segunda reação é catalisada pela prefenato desidratase que realiza a descarboxilação e desidratação de prefenato a fenilpiruvato. As enzimas presentes na via do chiquimato e biossíntese de fenilalanina parecem ser essenciais ao M. tuberculosis, o que as torna promissoras como alvo para o desenvolvimento de novas drogas antimicobacterianas. O gene pheA que codifica a enzima prefenato desidratase (PDT) foi amplificado por PCR do DNA genômico, clonado em vetor pET23a(+) e superexpresso em células E.coli BL21(DE3). A proteína recombinante foi purificada por FPLC e a cristalização foi realizada pela técnica de difusão de vapor “hanging drop”. Os primeiros cristais apareceram sete dias após as gotas terem sido feitas. Cristais difrataram a 3.2 Å de resolução usando uma fonte de radiação síncrotron e pertencem ao grupo orthorrombico I222 ou I212121. Análise da estrutura por substituição molecular foi realizada, contudo os resultados não foram satisfatórios. Assim, outras ferramentas foram utilizadas para inferir a estrutura da PDT. A técnica de modelagem molecular foi usada para inferir a estrutura tridimensional da PDT. Dicroísmo circular e ferramentas de bioinformática mostraram resultados similares quanto à estrutura secundária, sendo formada por 33% de hélices alfas e 18% de fitas betas. Dessa maneira, técnicas de espalhamento de raios X a baixo ângulo somado com ultracentrifugação analítica mostraram que o estado oligomérico da PDT é um homotetrâmero e com forma de um disco achatado. Dinâmica molecular demonstrou que o modelo predito é estável durante uma trajetória de 6ns. Dados experimentais e ferramentas de bioinformática corroboram os resultados aqui apresentados, dando evidências da estrutura tetramérica da PDT em solução. Além disso, este é o primeiro relato da caracterização estrutural da PDT de M.tuberculosis. / Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of deaths worldwide from an infectious agent. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year 8 million people are infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of TB, and approximately 2 million people died in the world. Since 1980’s the increasing of prevalence of TB in developing countries, the emergence and proliferation of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug resistant strains, the lack of adequate public resources for treatment and the high incidence of HIV-infected populations have highlighted the need for developing new antimycobacterial agents. The shikimate pathway is present in mycobacteria and absent in algae, plants, fungi and parasite of the phylum apicomplexa. This pathway leads to the biosynthesis of chorismate, an important metabolic precursor of folic acid, menaquinones, mycobactinas and aromatic amino acids. The first reaction in phenylalanine biosynthesis is catalysed by chorismate mutase and involves the conversion of chorismate to prephenate. The second reaction is catalysed by prephenate dehydratase and involves the decarboxilation and dehydratation of prephenate to phenylpiruvate. The enzymes of this pathway seem to be essential to M. tuberculosis and can thus be used as targets for the development of new antimycobacterial drugs. The pheA gene that encodes to prephenate dehydratase (PDT) was amplified by PCR from genomic DNA, cloned in pET23a(+) and overexpressed in E. coli BL21(DE3). The recombinant protein was purified by FPLC, and crystallization was performed by the hanging drop vapor diffusion method. Crystals appear seven days after drops were done. The crystal diffracted at 3.2 Å resolution using a synchrotron radiation source and belong to the orthorhombic group I222 or I212121. Molecular replacement was used to solve the structure of PDT, but did not yield meaningful results. Other tools were used to infer the structural arrangement of PDT. Molecular modeling were used to infer the three dimensional structure of PDT. Circular dicroism and bioinformatics tools were in agreement in about secondary structure, showing 33% of -helix e 18% of beta sheet. Small Angle X-Ray scattering and analytical centrifugation showed that the oligomeric state of this protein is a homotetramer and the PDT is a flat disk protein. Molecular dynamics showed that this model is stable at a trajectory of 6ns. Experimental and bioinformatics tools were in agreement and provide evidence for a tetrameric structure of PDT at solution. Therefore, this is the first report of a structural characterization of PDT from M.tuberculosis.

A tuberculose permanece sendo a principal causa de morte no mundo devido a um único agente infeccioso, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. O surgimento de cepas multi- e extensivamente-resistentes tem aumentado a perspectiva de uma futura epidemia de casos de tuberculose sem tratamento. Faz-se cada vez mais urgente a necessidade do desenvolvimento de novas drogas e vacinas, tanto para encurtar o prazo de tratamento, como para combater as cepas resistentes e o processo de latência que é estabelecido pelo bacilo. Os mecanismos moleculares pelos quais esta micobactéria estabelece infecção e latência ainda precisam ser esclarecidos. O estudo de proteínas associadas ao nucleóide tem sido um tema bastante promissor para o entendimento de mecanismos de invasão e persistência em vários microorganismos patogênicos, podendo auxiliar, também, no esclarecimento do metabolismo do bacilo para estas atividades. Neste estudo, descrevemos a caracterização inicial de uma fase de leitura identificada para uma proteína H-NS putativa de M. tuberculosis. A H-NS é uma das proteínas associadas ao nucleóide mais bem caracterizadas. O gene foi clonado, expresso, e seu produto foi, então, purificado até sua homogeneidade. Ensaios de ligação a DNA qualitativo, utilizando o EMSA, e quantitativo, por meio de ressonância plasmônica de superfície, foram realizados para a comprovação de sua atividade, tendo sido proposto um mecanismo de ligação ao DNA. Além disso, estudos de complementação realizados com a utilização de uma cepa de Escherichia coli mutante para hns sugerem que esta proteína pertence a uma nova classe de proteínas associadas ao nucleóide presentes em Mycobacterium. / Tuberculosis remains the major cause of mortality due to a bacterial pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The emergence of multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant strains have raised the bleak prospect of a future epidemic of virtually untreatable TB. More effective antimycobacterial agents, besides new vaccines or vaccination strategies, are thus needed to improve the treatment of resistant strains, to shorten the treatment course, and to provide more effective treatment of latent infection. The molecular mechanisms by which the bacillus establishes infection and persistence have not been completely elucidated. Studies involving nucleoid-associated proteins, which have been related to the control and influence of virulence genes in pathogenic bacteria, can help unveil the virulence process of M. tuberculosis. In this study, we describe the initial characterization of an open reading frame for the M. tuberculosis putative H-NS. This protein is one of the most studied members of the nucleoid-associated proteins family. The gene was cloned, expressed and its product purified to homogeneity. A qualitative protein-DNA binding assay was carried out by gel-retardation and the protein affinity for specific DNA sequences was assessed quantitatively by surface plasmon resonance. A protein-DNA binding mechanism is proposed. In addition, functional complementation studies of an E. coli hns mutant reinforce the likelihood that Rv3852 protein represents a novel nucleoid-associated protein in M. tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a neglected disease, which continue to be major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, killing together around 5 million people each year. Mycolic acids, the hallmark of mycobacteria, are high-molecular-weight α-alkyl, β-hydroxy fatty acids. Biochemical and genetic experimental data have shown that the product of the M. tuberculosis inhA structural gene (InhA) is the primary target of isoniazid mode of action, the most prescribed anti-tubercular agent. InhA was identified as an NADH-dependent enoyl-ACP(CoA) reductase specific for long-chain enoyl thioesters and is a member of the Type II fatty acid biosynthesis system, which elongates acyl fatty acid precursors of mycolic acids. M. tuberculosis is a target for the development of anti-tubercular agents. Here we present a brief description of the mechanism of action of, and resistance to, isoniazid. In addition, data on inhibition of mycobacterial enoyl reductase by triclosan are presented. We also describe recent efforts to develop inhibitors of M. tuberculosis enoyl reductase enzyme activity.

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The burgeoning tuberculosis epidemic worldwide is mainly due to the reactivation of old latent tuberculosis infection. South Africa is rated as one of the countries with the worst tuberculosis epidemic and the population that is mostly affected is the mineworkers. Reports suggest that reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection is responsible for these high tuberculosis rates in this population. Various risk factors for reactivation of latent TB have been identified and include silicosis, diabetes mellitus, immunosuppressive drug therapy, Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection and malnutrition. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is any relationship between exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation and reactivation tuberculosis by evaluating the effects of radiation on dormant mycobacteria in vitro. The Wayne in vitro dormancy model was used to induce dormancy in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Dormant pGFM-11- transformed and non-transformed cultures were then exposed to 0.1, 1 and 5Gray Cobalt-60 radiation. The radiation effects were evaluated using viable counts, the bacillary adenosine triphosphate assay and quantification of the green fluorescent protein expression using flow cytometry after 24 and 72 hours of radiation exposure. Exponential phase cultures treated in exactly the same way as the dormant cultures together with the cultures that were not exposed to any radiation served as controls. Dormancy was successfully induced as determined by the sensitivity of the dormant cultures to metronidazole, resistance to isoniazid and assumption of synchronous replication on dilution into oxygen-rich medium. Subsequent to exposure to Cobalt-60 radiation, the dormant cultures were sensitive to metronidazole and resistant to isoniazid and the inverse was observed in irradiated exponential phase cultures. The results suggested that both dormant and exponential phase cultures of the tested mycobacteria retained their antibiotic susceptibility pattern and thus were not affected by Cobalt-60 radiation. It was concluded that the doses of Cobalt-60 radiation used in this study did not cause the reactivation of in vitro dormant mycobacterial strains tested. / Dr. H. Abrahamse Mrs. J.V. Hind

Confidential, not available. / Doctorat en Sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques (Pharmacie) / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

No description available.

M.Sc. / The global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic has resulted in the development of numerous methods for the enumeration and viability assessment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), as these methods play a key role in TB management and research. In this study the methods of quantitative culture (CFU), the microplate alamar blue assay (MABA), flow cytometry, the green fluorescent protein microplate assay (GFPMA) and quantitative PCR were investigated and compared for the enumeration and viability assessment of mycobacteria in culture. The MABA and the GFPMA were applied to the enumeration and viability assessment of mycobacteria post-infection. Quantitative culture was found to be simple and low in cost but was lengthy. The MABA, an economic and quick assay, was more sensitive for high mycobacterial concentrations. The flow cytometric enumeration of fluorescent mycobacteria was rapid and sensitive, but was dependent on access to a flow cytometer and therefore was costly. Flow cytometry facilitated enumeration but was limited concerning viability assessment. The GFPMA was a simple, rapid and cost effective assay. However, decreased sensitivity was observed for low mycobacterial concentrations. Quantitative PCR, although high in cost, was sensitive and rapid. The MABA and the GFPMA were useful for the enumeration of mycobacteria post-infection, with the former being the more sensitive method. This study serves as a reference of the methods available for the enumeration and viability assessment of M.tb. The advantages and disadvantages established for each of the methods investigated in this study enables an informed selection of the most appropriate method for a specific objective and research environment.

This study was undertaken in order to isolate and identify the pigment, if possible, and to determine the effect of substrate, substrate concentration, light exposure, and pH on pigment production in this organism.

Although it is more than 100 years since Robert Koch discovered the tubercle bacillus, and more than 40 years since effective chemotherapy became available, the incidence of tuberculosis is increasing in much of the developing world and has recently re-emerged as a public health problem in industrialized countries. This problem is compounded by the increase in host susceptibility to tuberculosis caused by co-infection with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and the emergence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains that are resistant to the front-line drugs. These factors highlight the urgent need for development of new drug classes to counter the threat posed by tuberculosis. The purpose of the present study was to develop a mouse model for Mycobacterium tuberculosis with the aim of determining the antimycobacterial activity of medicinal plants used by traditional doctors to treat tuberculosis in South Africa. Furthermore, the toxic effects of these medicinal plants in uninfected mice were determined. A field trip to the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State provinces was undertaken and medicinal plants used by traditional doctors to treat tuberculosis or its symptoms were collected, identified and examined for their therapeutic effects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, determined using the mouse model. In addition, the effects of medicinal plants on the production of cytokines and granuloma formation in infected mice were examined. Six-to-ten week old C57BL/6 mice were infected with 107 viable Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain by an aerosol exposure model. Bacterial growth was monitored by sacrificing infected but untreated mice at day 1, week 2 and week 4. Treatment with medicinal plant extracts was started 2 weeks after infection and continued for 2 weeks. An INH-RIF combination was used as positive controls. The bacterial load in infected but untreated mice increased by 1 log unit each week for 2 to 3 weeks. Bacterial loads were not detected in INH-RIF treated mice after 2 weeks of treatment. Treatment of mice with high doses of plant extracts was toxic. None of the tested medicinal plant extracts showed any activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The production of IL-12 at week 4 was suppressed/ decreased when plant extract A was given at different concentrations. The bacterial loads in the lungs of the plant extract A treated mice was higher than that of the untreated mice (p < 0.005). Histological analysis of the lungs also revealed a high number of bacilli and increased size of the formed granuloma. In conclusion, the selected plant extracts obtained by water extraction exhibited no anti-tuberculosis activity in the laboratory mouse model for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Furthermore, it was also shown that some plant extracts suppressed the production of IL-12, which plays an important role in the host's defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, further work is required to test if treatment for longer periods exhibits antituberculous activity.