Biology subjects

Aono, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Aono, A..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Concentration-dependent suppression of macrolide resistance in Mycobacterium avium by combination therapy: an improved in vitro time-kill assay and PK/PD modelling study

ObjectivesMacrolides are key drugs in the treatment for Mycobacterium avium pulmonary disease, and combination chemotherapy is essential to preventing macrolide resistance. However, the concentrations of concomitant agents required to suppress resistance emergence remain undefined. This study aimed to quantify the concentration-dependent effects of companion drugs on macrolide resistance using an improved time-kill assay and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) modelling approach. MethodsTime-kill assays were performed on M. avium ATCC 700898 using azithromycin alone or in combination with ethambutol, rifampicin, amikacin, or clofazimine. Total and resistant bacterial populations were quantified over 28 days. A pharmacodynamic (PD) model describing the dynamics of susceptible and resistant subpopulations was linked to a pharmacokinetic (PK) model incorporating alveolar macrophage concentrations to simulate resistance and bactericidal rates under various dosing regimens. ResultsMacrolide resistance most frequently emerged at 2-4x the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of azithromycin, whereas resistance was less frequent at 8-16x MIC or sub-MIC levels. The addition of companion drugs suppressed resistance emergence even at sub-MIC levels. PK/PD simulations demonstrated that standard-dose ethambutol effectively prevented macrolide resistance, whereas rifampicin provided minimal protection. More frequent dosing schedules enhanced resistance suppression compared with once-daily regimens. ConclusionThis study defines the concentration-dependent contributions of concomitant agents to macrolide resistance suppression in M. avium and establishes a quantitative PK/PD framework for evaluating resistance emergence. These findings provide mechanistic insights to support the optimization of combination dosing strategies for M. avium pulmonary disease.

pharmacology and toxicology↗

bioRxiv2021

Bovine serum albumin as a resuscitation promoting factor for viable but non-culturable Mycobacterium tuberculosis via the activation of protein kinase A-dependent cellular processes

We investigated the mechanisms underlying the fetal bovine serum (FBS)-induced reactivation of the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) using the H37Rv strain. We found that bovine serum albumin (BSA), a major component of FBS, could reactivate the VBNC state of Mtb cells without other reactivation-promoting agents. Human serum albumin also had a restorative effect similar to BSA, but mouse serum albumin and egg-white albumin (ovalbumin) did not, suggesting that a common protein structure between bovine and human serum albumin is essential for reactivation. In addition, antioxidative agents, such as N-acetyl-L-cysteine, showed no restorative effect, suggesting that the restoration of culturability might not be due to the antioxidative property of BSA. BSA-mediated reactivation is inhibited by H89 and staurosporine. These inhibitors are known to inhibit multiple protein kinases, including serine/threonine protein kinases, in Mtb, suggesting the involvement of mycobacterial protein kinases in cell division during reactivation. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of Mtb reactivation, and may contribute to the development of novel strategies for the treatment of latent tuberculosis. ImportanceReactivation of dormant, including viable but non-culturable (VBNC) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) cells, represents a critical step in the progression from latent infection to active tuberculosis. However, the molecular mechanisms that trigger this transition are not yet fully understood. We herein report that bovine serum albumin (BSA), a major component of fetal bovine serum, can restore the culturability of VBNC Mtb cells. Human serum albumin showed a similar effect, whereas mouse and egg-white albumins did not, suggesting that the specific structural features shared between bovine and human albumins are essential for reactivation. The lack of reactivation by the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine indicates that the mechanism is not related to redox balance. Inhibition of BSA-induced reactivation by H89 and staurosporine implicates mycobacterial serine/threonine protein kinases in this process. These findings highlight the previously unrecognized role of albumin-kinase signaling in Mtb reactivation and suggest new molecular targets for preventing tuberculosis relapse.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

A Stomata Classification and Detection System in Microscope Images of Maize Cultivars

Research on stomata, i.e., morphological structures of plants, has increased in popularity in the last years. These structures (pores) are in charge of the interaction between the internal plant system and the environment, working on different processes such as photosynthesis and transpiration stream. Besides, a better understanding of the pore mechanism plays a significant role when exploring the evolution process, as well as the behavior of plants. Although the study of stomata in dicots species of plants has advanced considerably in the past years, there is little information about stomata of cereal grasses. Also, automated detection of these structures have been considered in the literature, but some gaps are still uncovered. This fact is motivated by high morphological variation of stomata and the presence of noise from the image acquisition step. In this work, we propose a new methodology for automatic stomata classification and a new detection system in microscope images for maize cultivars. We have achieved an approximated accuracy of 97.1% in the identification of stomata regions using classifiers based on deep learning features, which figures out as a nearly perfect classification system.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Six species of non-tuberculosis mycobacteria carry non-identical 16S rRNA gene copies

Non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) can carry two or more 16S rRNA gene copies that are, in some instances, non-identical. In this study, we used a combined cloning and sequencing approach to analyze the 16S rRNA gene sequences of six NTM species, Mycobacterium cosmeticum, M. pallens, M. hodleri, M. crocinum, M. flavescens, and M. xenopi. The approach facilitated the identification of two distinct gene copies in each species. The two M. cosmeticum genes had a single nucleotide difference, whereas two nucleotide polymorphisms were identified in M. hodleri, M. flavescens, and M. xenopi. M. pallens had a difference in four nucleotides and M. crocinum in 23. Hence, we showed that the six NTM species possess at least two non-identical 16S rRNA gene copies.\n\nImportanceThe presence of multiple 16S rRNA gene copies with nucleotide polymorphisms represents a challenge for species identification using 16S rRNA as the target sequence. Our analysis was focused on six NTM species, M. cosmeticum, M. pallens, M. hodleri, M. crocinum, M. flavescens, and M. xenopi. As a result, we generated the full-length sequences of two non-identical 16S rRNA copies for each NTM species. The data will be helpful for the sequence analysis of specimens or other samples.

bioinformatics↗