Biology subjects

Sampson, S. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Sampson, S. L..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Proteomic insights into a M. tuberculosis clinical isolate with an increased propensity to form viable but non-replicating subpopulations during acid stress

Phagosome acidification is one of the challenges faced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis during infection. This intracellular pathogen is known to adapt to its stressful environment through stress response pathways and by secreting proteins to modify the host immune response for survival and proliferation. However, M. tuberculosis also holds the potential to form viable but non-replicating (VBNR) and antibiotic tolerant persisters in response to environmental stress, including acid stress. In this study we used a in vitro acid stress model to stimulate the formation of a VBNR subpopulation in a M. tuberculosis clinical isolate with an increased propensity to form VBNR bacteria. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics was used to characterize the cellular proteome and culture filtrate proteome of actively replicating (pH 6,5) and VBNR enriched (pH 4,5) cultures. We show that in response to acid stress, M. tuberculosis S169 increases the expression of known stress response proteins, including the methyltransferase Rv1405c and the acid stress response two-component regulatory protein TcrX. Interestingly, we found that the dormancy response regulon components were less abundant in acid stressed M. tuberculosis S169. Our protein aggregation capture culture filtrate proteomic approach revealed that the culture filtrates of low pH stressed M. tuberculosis S169 contained less proteins than that of actively replicating cultures. We identified several proteins previously implicated in M. tuberculosis persistence, including toxin-antitoxin proteins (VapC51 and VapB10), the chorismate mutase (Rv1885c), and several uncharacterized proteins. The observed differences identified in the characterisation of this clinical isolate in comparison to published M. tuberculosis H37Rv highlights the need to investigate M. tuberculosis clinical isolates for a more representative understanding of the tuberculosis stress response. Author SummaryTuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and this pathogen can form a subpopulation of viable but non-replicating (VBNR) cells that are recalcitrant to antibiotic treatment. These persister bacteria increases the risk of treatment failure and tuberculosis recurrence following treatment. Stimulation of a persister population through triggered persister formation can be achieved by environmental stress factors such as low pH, nutrient starvation, hypoxia, and antibiotic exposure. In this study we investigate the cellular and culture filtrate proteomes of a high persister forming clinical isolate, M. tuberculosis S169, in response to acid stress. We show that following the stimulation of a VBNR subpopulation in response to acid stress, several known acid stress response proteins are more abundant in VBNR enriched cultures. Interestingly, we found that stress response proteins were less abundant. Using a protein aggregation capture approach we successfully characterized culture filtrates M. tuberculosis cultures, reducing the bacterial culture amount required for these experiments. Culture filtrates differed between actively replicating and VBNR enriched cultures. Several immunogenic proteins were identified in a higher abundance in the culture filtrates of VBNR enriched cultures.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

The role of copper resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis

Despite the development of new drugs and social interventions, tuberculosis remains a leading cause of mortality. This burden falls disproportionately on developing countries, particularly those where the incidence of HIV is high. In the Western Cape, South Africa, we have identified and isolated two Beijing family strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that, despite few differences at a genomic level, differ greatly in their severity of disease caused, providing an opportunity to study virulence in this organism. The aim of this study was to identify differences at a genomic and transcriptomic level that may identify the cause of the different virulence levels observed in the two isolates. The isolates were compared at the transcriptome level under four different growth conditions including oxidative stress. In comparing the transcriptome of the two isolates, an operon containing genes involved in the production of molybdenum cofactor that showed consistently lower levels of expression in the hypervirulent isolate was identified. A copper sensing transcriptional regulator was identified as the most probable regulator, and we found that the Cso operon which it is known to regulate was similarly differentially expressed in the strains. The production of molybdenum cofactor is effected in two ways by copper levels. Through the independent insertion of copper into molybdopterin (MPT), and destabilisation of Fe-S clusters. As MoaA3 contains a Fe-S cluster that is known to be destabilised by copper, and a number of copper sensitive genes are likewise found differentially expressed, it is likely that the strains differ in terms of their levels of resistance to copper. It is therefore hypothesised that the differences in virulence are as a result of different levels of resistance to phagosome copper overload, and the mechanism by which copper levels are linked to the production of molybdenum cofactor is described. Author summaryIn this article, we describe the differences in gene expression of two closely related strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated in the Western Cape of South Africa that differ in the severity of disease that they cause. We compared the strains at a genomic and transcriptomic level, and in doing so, we discovered a set of molybdenum cofactor genes regulated by a copper sensing transcription factor that came up in all datasets. Further genes linked to copper response were identified, providing greater evidence that the difference between the two strains was the manner in which they responded to copper stress. Phagocytes are known to exploit high levels of copper to kill intracellular bacteria, suggesting an important link between copper and disease. We conclude that resistance to copper toxicity is the most probable reason for the relative increase in virulence, and describe the regulatory relationship between copper levels and molybdenum cofactor synthesis.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Repurposing Novobiocin for activity against latency associated Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug target nicotinate-nucleotide adenylyltransferase (Rv2421c)

Nicotinamide-nucleotide adenylyl transferase (Rv2421c) was selected as a potential drug target, because it has been shown, in vitro, to be essential for Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth. It is conserved between mycobacterium species, is up-regulated during dormancy, has a known 3D crystal structure and has no known human homologs. A model of Rv2421c in complex with nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide and magnesium ion was constructed and subject to virtual ligand screening against the Prestwick Chemical Library and the ZINC database, which yielded 155 potential hit molecules. 3D-QSAR studies of the 155 drug molecules indicated five compounds with similar inhibitory efficiencies compared to known inhibitors of Rv2421c. Molecular docking validation and molecular dynamics simulation analysis of the top five compounds indicated that the identified inhibitor molecules bind to Rv2421c with comparable efficiency as the substrate DND. Subsequent in vitro testing of the five compounds identified Novobiocin sodium salt with activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis at 50 M, 25M and weakly at 10M concentrations. Although, Novobiocin salt targets Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA gyrase B our studies suggest that it has the potential to be repurposed to inhibit Rv2421c. Subsequent in silico structural analysis of known Novobiocin sodium salt derivatives against Rv2421c suggest promising alternatives for the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Author SummaryRv2421c has been shown to be essential for Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth, shares no homology to known proteins in the human host, is conserved between various Mycobacterium species, is up-regulated during the non-replicative metabolic growth phase, making it an attractive drug target. It has a known 3D structure which has been exploited to screen for putative compounds within the Prestwick chemical library and ZINC database, resulting in the successful identification of 155 candidate compounds. Thereafter 3D-QSAR, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies were used to prioritize five potential compounds. Of the five compounds tested in vitro, only one, a Novobiocin disodium salt, showed activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis at 50, 25 and weakly at 10 M concentrations. Novobiocin is known to target Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA gyrase B, but emerging resistance stimulated us to seek derivatives to target Rv2421c as alternatives for the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Docking studies supported the higher binding affinities of Novobiocin derivatives to Rv2421c compared to DNA gyrase B. Future studies will involve testing these Novobiocin derivatives for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

bioinformatics↗