Elizabethkingia anophelis is an emerging human pathogen causing neonatal meningitis, catheter-associated infections and nosocomial outbreaks with high mortality rates. Besides, they are resistant t...

Proteome-wide screening for designing a multi-epitope vaccine against emerging pathogen Elizabethkingia anophelis using immunoinformatic approaches.

Interdisciplinary research focused on biological membranes has revealed them as signaling and trafficking platforms for processes fundamental to life. Biomembranes harbor receptors, ion channels, lipid domains, lipid signals, and scaffolding complexes, which function to maintain cellular growth, metabolism, and homeostasis. Moreover, abnormalities in lipid metabolism attributed to genetic changes among other causes are often associated with diseases such as cancer, arthritis and diabetes. Thus, there is a need to comprehensively understand molecular events occurring within and on membranes as a means of grasping disease etiology and identifying viable targets for drug development. A rapidly expanding field in the last decade has centered on understanding membrane recruitment of peripheral proteins. This class of proteins reversibly interacts with specific lipids in a spatial and temporal fashion in crucial biological processes. Typically, recruitment of peripheral proteins to the different cellular sites is mediated by one or more modular lipid-binding domains through specific lipid recognition. Structural, computational, and experimental studies of these lipid-binding domains have demonstrated how they specifically recognize their cognate lipids and achieve subcellular localization. However, the mechanisms by which these modular domains and their host proteins are recruited to and interact with various cell membranes often vary drastically due to differences in lipid affinity, specificity, penetration as well as protein-protein and intramolecular interactions. As there is still a paucity of predictive data for peripheral protein function, these enzymes are often rigorously studied to characterize their lipid-dependent properties. This review summarizes recent progress in our understanding of how peripheral proteins are recruited to biomembranes and highlights avenues to exploit in drug development targeted at cellular membranes and/or lipid-binding proteins.

Cellular membranes and lipid-binding domains as attractive targets for drug development

Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) infections are a leading cause of bacteremia in Sub-Saharan Africa (sSA), thereby representing a major public health threat. Salmonella Typhimurium clade ST313 and Salmonella Enteriditis lineages associated with Western and Central/Eastern Africa are among the iNTS serovars which are of the greatest concern due to their case-fatality rate, especially in children and in the immunocompromised population. Identification of pathogen-associated features and host susceptibility factors that increase the risk for invasive non-typhoidal salmonellosis would be instrumental for the design of targeted prevention strategies, which are urgently needed given the increasing spread of multidrug-resistant iNTS in Africa. This review summarizes current knowledge of bacterial traits and host immune responses associated with iNTS infections in sSA, then discusses how this knowledge can guide vaccine development while providing a summary of vaccine candidates in preclinical and early clinical development.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/21645515.2020.1785791

Pathogenic signature of invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella in Africa: implications for vaccine development

Salmonellosis is a foodborne infection caused by Salmonella. Domestic poultry species are one of the main reservoirs of Salmonella, which causes the foodborne infection salmonellosis, and are responsible for many cases of animal-to-human transmission. Keeping backyard chickens is now a growing trend, increasing the frequency of direct contact with the flock and, by consequence, the incidence of Salmonella infections. Bacillus subtilis KATMIRA1933 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens B-1895 are probiotic bacilli that produce the bacteriocins subtilosin A and subtilin, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the two strains was determined against the reference strain Micrococcus luteus ATCC 10420. The cell-free supernatant of B. subtilis KATMIRA1933 inhibited biofilm formation by Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Hadar, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis phage type 4, and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Thompson by 51.1%, 48.3%, and 56.9%, respectively. The cell-free supernatant of B. amyloliquefaciens B-1895 inhibited the biofilm formation of these Salmonella strains by 30.4%, 28.6%, and 35.5%, respectively. These findings suggest that the bacillus strains may have the potential to be used as probiotics and antibiotic alternatives for the control of Salmonella in poultry. The number of planktonic cells was unaffected by treatment with the cell-free supernatant. A co-culture of the Salmonella strains with either bacilli showed no signs of growth inhibition, suggesting that it might have been quorum sensing that is affected by the two Bacillus strains.

/pdf/probiotic-bacilli-inhibit-salmonella-biofilm-formation-330w4prspx.pdf

Probiotic Bacilli Inhibit Salmonella Biofilm Formation Without Killing Planktonic Cells.

Mycotoxins are a prevalent problem for stored fruits, grains, and vegetables. Alternariol, aflatoxin, and patulin, produced by Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp., and Penicillium spp., are the major mycotoxins that negatively affect human and animal health and reduce fruit and produce quality. Control strategies for these toxins are varied, but one method that is increasing in interest is through host microbiome manipulation, mirroring a biocontrol approach. While the majority of mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites (SM) produced by fungi impact host-fungal interactions, there is also an interplay between the various organisms within the host microbiome. In addition to SMs, these interactions involve compounds such as signaling molecules, plant defense and growth hormones, and metabolites produced by both the plants and microbial community. Therefore, studies to understand the impact of the various toxins impacting the beneficial and harmful microorganisms that reside within the microbiome is warranted, and could lead to identification of safe analogs for antimicrobial activity to reduce fruit decay. Additionally, exploring the composition of the microbial carposphere of host plants is likely to shed light on developing a microbial consortium to maintain quality during storage and abate mycotoxin contamination.

/pdf/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-mycotoxin-production-during-2w3j3ek0lr.pdf

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Mycotoxin Production During Postharvest Decay and Their Influence on Tritrophic Host-Pathogen-Microbe Interactions.

Patulin interference with ATP binding cassette transferring auto inducer −2 in Salmonella typhi and biofilm inhibition via quorum sensing

Investigations of binding mode insight in Salmonella typhi type-III secretion system tip protein (SipD): A molecular docking and MD simulation study

Typhoid fever is an acute illness in humans, caused by Salmonella typhi, a gram-negative bacterium. Outer membrane proteins of S. typhi have strong potential for its use in the development...

In Silico Characterization of B Cell and T Cell Epitopes for Subunit Vaccine Design of Salmonella typhi PgtE: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Approach.

Substrate specificities in Salmonella typhi outer membrane protease (PgtE) from Omptin family – An in silico proteomic approach

http://ijlssr.com/currentissue/ProGene%201.0-An%20In%20Silico%20Tool%20for%20Protein-Gene%20Analysis.pdf

Princy Vijayababu

Papers

Patulin interference with ATP binding cassette transferring auto inducer −2 in Salmonella typhi and biofilm inhibition via quorum sensing

Investigations of binding mode insight in Salmonella typhi type-III secretion system tip protein (SipD): A molecular docking and MD simulation study

In Silico Characterization of B Cell and T Cell Epitopes for Subunit Vaccine Design of Salmonella typhi PgtE: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Approach.

Substrate specificities in Salmonella typhi outer membrane protease (PgtE) from Omptin family – An in silico proteomic approach

ProGene 1.0-An In Silico Tool for Protein-Gene Analysis