Biomedical subjects

Barbara E Murray

Publications and source records attributed to Barbara E Murray.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Involvement of PhoP-PhoS homologs in Enterococcus faecalis virulence.

Eleven PhoP-PhoS homolog pairs were identified by searching the Enterococcus faecalis V583 genome sequence database at The Institute for Genomic Research with the Bacillus subtilis PhoP-PhoS sequences. Each pair appears to be a potential two-component system composed of a response regulator and a sensor kinase. Seven of the homologs were disrupted in E. faecalis strain OG1RF. TX10293, a mutant disrupted in one of these genes (etaR, the first gene of the gene pair designated etaRS), showed delayed killing and a higher 50% lethal dose in a mouse peritonitis model. The predicted EtaR protein sequence showed greatest similarity to LisR of Listeria monocytogenes (77%) and CsrR of Streptococcus pyogenes (70%); EtaS is 53% similar to LisK and 54% similar to CsrS. When grown in vitro, the TX10293 mutant was more sensitive to low pH (pH 3.4) and more resistant to high temperature (55 degrees C) than wild-type OG1RF. In conclusion, many potential two-component systems are identified for E. faecalis, one of which, EtaRS, was shown to be involved in stress response and virulence.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Evidence that the enterococcal polysaccharide antigen gene (epa) cluster is widespread in Enterococcus faecalis and influences resistance to phagocytic killing of E. faecalis.

In previous studies, we cloned a cluster of genes involved in polysaccharide biosynthesis (epa) from Enterococcus faecalis strain OG1RF and showed that this gene cluster mediated synthesis of a polysaccharide in Escherichia coli. Disruption of two open reading frames in the epa gene cluster of OG1RF generated two mutants, TX5179 and TX5180, which were attenuated in a mouse peritonitis model. In the current study, Western blotting was performed with serum from a patient with E. faecalis endocarditis and polysaccharide extracts from OG1RF and the mutants TX5179 and TX5180. OG1RF showed a smear in the high-molecular-weight region and discrete bands in the low-molecular-weight region, which were missing from the mutants; periodate treatment and carbohydrate staining confirmed the polysaccharide nature of this material. In a neutrophil killing assay using OG1RF-absorbed normal human serum, the mutants TX5179 and TX5180, respectively, were 50 and 2.4 times more susceptible to killing than wild-type OG1RF (P < or = 0.01). With a fluorescence phagocytosis assay, 2.5 to 3 times more of the mutants were taken up by neutrophils than OG1RF (P < or = 0.001). Finally, with restriction digestion and hybridization under high-stringency conditions, the epa gene cluster of OG1RF (which is also present in the sequenced E. faecalis strain V583) was detected in 12 of 12 other clonally distinct E. faecalis strains tested: a similar polysaccharide pattern was detected for the 12 strains on Western blots using an E. faecalis endocarditis patient serum, and sera from four other patients with E. faecalis endocarditis all reacted with polysaccharide extracts of OG1RF. These results indicate that the epa gene cluster is widespread among E. faecalis and confers some protection against human host defenses.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

PubMed2002

The Enterococcus faecalis fsrB gene, a key component of the fsr quorum-sensing system, is associated with virulence in the rabbit endophthalmitis model.

We used a rabbit endophthalmitis model to explore the role of fsrB, a gene required for the function of the fsr quorum-sensing system of Enterococcus faecalis, in pathogenicity. A nonpolar deletion mutant of fsrB had significantly reduced virulence compared to wild type. Complementation of mutation restored virulence. These data corroborate the role of fsrB in E. faecalis pathogenesis and suggest that the rabbit endophthalmitis model can be used to study the in vivo role of quorum sensing.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Molecular typing of selected Enterococcus faecalis isolates: pilot study using multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

The present study compared the recently developed multilocus sequence typing (MLST) approach with a well-established molecular typing technique, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), for subspecies differentiation of Enterococcus faecalis isolates. We sequenced intragenic regions of three E. faecalis antigen-encoding genes (ace, encoding a collagen and laminin adhesin; efaA, encoding an endocarditis antigen; and salA, encoding a cell wall associated antigen) and one housekeeping gene (pyrC) of 22 E. faecalis isolates chosen largely for their temporal and geographical diversity, but also including some outbreak isolates. MLST analysis of polymorphic regions of these four genes identified 13 distinct sequence types (STs) with different allelic profiles; the composite sequences generated from the four sequenced gene fragments of individual isolates showed 98.3 to 100% identity among the 22 isolates. We also found that the allelic profiles from two sequences, ace and salA, were sufficient to distinguish all 13 STs of this study. The 13 STs corresponded to 12 different PFGE types, with one previously designated PFGE clone (a widespread U.S. clone of beta-lactamase-producing isolates) being classified into two highly related STs which differed at 2 of 2,894 bases, both in the same allele. MLST also confirmed the clonal relationships among the isolates of two other PFGE clonal groups, including vancomycin resistant isolates. Thus, this pilot study with representative E. faecalis isolates suggests that, similar to PFGE, the sequence-based typing method may be useful for differentiating isolates of E. faecalis to the subspecies level in addition to identifying outbreak isolates.

Base Sequence↗