Peptoids differ from peptides in that peptoids are composed of N-substituted rather than alpha-carbon-substituted glycine units. In this paper we report the in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of several antibacterial peptoids discovered by screening combinatorial chemistry libraries for bacterial growth inhibition. In vitro, the peptoid CHIR29498 and some of its analogues were active in the range of 3 to 12 μg/ml against a panel of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria which included isolates which were resistant to known antibiotics. Peptoid antimicrobial activity againstStaphylococcus aureus was rapid, bactericidal, and independent of protein synthesis. β-Galactosidase and propidium iodide leakage assays indicated that the membrane is the most likely target of activity. Positional isomers of an active peptoid were also active, consistent with a mode of action, such as membrane disruption, that does not require a specific fit between the molecule and its target. In vivo, CHIR29498 protected S. aureus-infected mice in a simple infection model.
Although resistance to the expanded-spectrum cephalosporins among members of the family Enterobacteriaceae lacking inducible β-lactamases occurs virtually worldwide, little is known about this problem among isolates recovered in South Africa. Isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Proteus mirabilis resistant to expanded-spectrum cephalosporins recovered from patients in various parts of South Africa over a 3-month period were investigated for extended-spectrum β-lactamase production. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by standard disk diffusion and agar dilution procedures. Production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases was evaluated by using the double-disk test, and the β-lactamases were characterized by spectrophotometric hydrolysis assays and an isoelectric focusing overlay technique which simultaneously determined isoelectric points and general substrate or inhibitor characteristics. DNA amplification and sequencing were performed to confirm the identities of these enzymes. The P. mirabilis and E. coliisolates were found to produce TEM-26-type, SHV-2, and SHV-5 extended-spectrum β-lactamases. An AmpC-related enzyme which had a pI of 8.0 and which conferred resistance to cefoxitin as well as the expanded-spectrum cephalosporins was found in a strain of K. pneumoniae. This is the first study which has identified organisms producing different extended-spectrum β-lactamases from South Africa and the first report describing strains of P. mirabilis producing a TEM-26-type enzyme. The variety of extended-spectrum β-lactamases found among members of the familyEnterobacteriaceae isolated from major medical centers in South Africa is troubling and adds to the growing list of countries where these enzymes pose a serious problem for antimicrobial therapy.
The 51.4-kDa-41.9-kDa binary toxin produced by different strains of Bacillus sphaericus shows differential activity toward Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes atropalpus, and Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae. The patterns of larvicidal activity toward all three mosquito species and growth retardation in A. aegypti have been shown to be due to the 41.9-kDa protein. By using mutant toxins expressed in Escherichia coli, insecticidal activity and growth retardation correlated with amino acids centered around position 100 of the 41.9-kDa protein. In its response to these toxins, A. atropalpus resembled C. quinquefasciatus rather than its congener, A. aegypti.
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