Serratia marcescens is an important nosocomial pathogen, which has been especially problematic as a cause of hospital-acquired pneumonia in the past two decades. Treatment of S. marcescens-related infections has been limited by emergence of multiple drug-resistant strains. Thus, the development of alternative agents for the prevention and treatment of Serratia infection is urgently needed. Resveratrol (RSV) is a compound with diverse biological effects including anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-diabetes, and cancer chemoprevention. Whether RSV has in vivo prophylactic or therapeutic potential against infection remains uncharacterized. In the present study, we used a murine acute pneumonia model initiated by intratracheal application of S. marcescens to evaluate whether RSV possesses anti-infection properties. We showed that pretreatment with RSV for 3 days markedly increased alveolar macrophage infiltration, elevated NK cell activity, and decreased bacterial burden in the infected lung with a subsequent decrease in mortality. These effects were associated with significantly less-severe inflammatory phenotypes in lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, including reduced neutrophil infiltration of the lungs, reduced phagocytosis activity, and reduced secretion of cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-6. To further characterize the underlying mechanism responsible for these effects of RSV, LPS derived from S. marcescens was used to induce acute pneumonia in rats, with or without RSV pretreatment. RSV was shown to ameliorate acute pneumonia via inhibition of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway, including inhibition of IkappaBalpha phosphorylation and subsequent NF-kappaB activation. These findings suggest that RSV might be beneficial as a prophylactic treatment in patients at risk of an episode of S. marcescens-induced acute pneumonia.
Swarming migration of Serratia marcescens requires both flagellar motility and cellular differentiation and is a population-density-dependent behavior. While the flhDC and quorum-sensing systems have been characterized as important factors regulating S. marcescens swarming, the underlying molecular mechanisms are currently far from being understood. Serratia swarming is thermoregulated and is characterized by continuous surface migration on rich swarming agar surfaces at 30°C but not at 37°C. To further elucidate the mechanisms, identification of specific and conserved regulators that govern the initiation of swarming is essential. We performed transposon mutagenesis to screen for S. marcescens strain CH-1 mutants that swarmed at 37°C. Analysis of a "precocious-swarming" mutant revealed that the defect in a conserved dapA Sm -nlpB Sm genetic locus which is closely related to the synthesis of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan is responsible for the aberrant swarming phenotype. Further complementation and gene knockout studies showed that nlpB Sm , which encodes a membrane lipoprotein, NlpB Sm , but not dapA Sm , is specifically involved in swarming regulation. On the other hand, dapA Sm but not nlpB Sm is responsible for the determination of cell envelope architecture, regulation of hemolysin production, and cellular attachment capability. While the nlpB Sm mutant showed similar cytotoxicity to its parent strain, the dapA Sm mutant significantly increased in cytotoxicity. We present evidence that DapA Sm is involved in the determination of cell-envelope-associated phenotypes and that NlpB Sm is involved in the regulation of swarming motility.
Tubercle bacillus [TB] is one of the most important chronic infectious diseases that cause millions of deaths annually. While conventional smear microscopy and culture methods are widely used for diagnosis of TB, the former is insensitive, and the latter takes up to 6 to 8 weeks to provide a result, limiting the value of these methods in aiding diagnosis and intermediate decisions on treatment. Therefore, a rapid detection method is essential for the diagnosis, prognosis assessment, and recurrence monitoring. A new surface plasmon resonance [SPR] biosensor based on an array format, which allowed immobilizing nine TB antigens onto the sensor chip, was constructed. Simultaneous determination of multiple TB antibodies in serum had been accomplished with this array-based SPR system. The results were compared with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, a conventional immunological method. Array-based SPR showed more advantages in providing label-free and real-time detection. Additionally, the high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of TB infection showed its potential for future development of biosensor arrays for TB diagnosis.
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