Clonal differences in Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia-associated mortality.

The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen for which the emergence of antibiotic resistance is a global public health concern. Infection severity, and in particular bacteraemia-associated mortality, has been attributed to several host-related factors, such as age and the presence of comorbidities. The role of the bacterium in infection severity is less well understood, as it is complicated by the multifaceted nature of bacterial virulence, which has so far prevented a robust mapping between genotype, phenotype and infection outcome. To investigate the role of bacterial factors in contributing to bacteraemia-associated mortality, we phenotyped a collection of sequenced clinical S. aureus isolates from patients with bloodstream infections, representing two globally important clonal types, CC22 and CC30. By adopting a genome-wide association study approach we identified and functionally verified several genetic loci that affect the expression of cytolytic toxicity and biofilm formation. By analysing the pooled data comprising bacterial genotype and phenotype together with clinical metadata within a machine-learning framework, we found significant clonal differences in the determinants most predictive of poor infection outcome. Whereas elevated cytolytic toxicity in combination with low levels of biofilm formation was predictive of an increased risk of mortality in infections by strains of a CC22 background, these virulence-specific factors had little influence on mortality rates associated with CC30 infections. Our results therefore suggest that different clones may have adopted different strategies to overcome host responses and cause severe pathology. Our study further demonstrates the use of a combined genomics and data analytic approach to enhance our understanding of bacterial pathogenesis at the individual level, which will be an important step towards personalized medicine and infectious disease management

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-allylamine) (PNIPAM-co-ALA) nanospheres for the thermally triggered release of Bacteriophage K

Due to the increased prevalence of resistant bacterial isolates which are no longer susceptible to antibiotic treatment, recent emphasis has been placed on finding alternative modes of treatment of wound infections. Bacteriophage have long been investigated for their antimicrobial properties, yet the utilization of phage therapy for the treatment of wound infections relies on a suitable delivery system. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a thermally responsive polymer which undergoes a temperature dependent phase transition at a critical solution temperature. Bacteriophage K has been successfully formulated with PNIPAM nanospheres copolymerized with allylamine (PNIPAM-co-ALA). By utilizing a temperature responsive polymer it has been possible to engineer the nanospheres to collapse at an elevated temperature associated with a bacterial skin infection. The nanogels were reacted with surface deposited maleic anhydride in order to anchor the nanogels to non-woven fabric. Bacteriophage incorporated PNIPAM-co-ALA nanospheres demonstrated successful bacterial lysis of a clinically relevant bacterial isolate - Staphylococcus aureus ST228 at 37°C, whilst bacterial growth was unaffected at 25°C, thus providing a thermally triggered release of bacteriophage.Dynamic Light Scattering IR Spectroscopy Zeta Potential MeasurementsGraphs created in Origi

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-allylamine) (PNIPAM-co-ALA) nanospheres for the thermally triggered release of Bacteriophage K

Due to the increased prevalence of resistant bacterial isolates which are no longer susceptible to antibiotic treatment, recent emphasis has been placed on finding alternative modes of treatment of wound infections. Bacteriophage have long been investigated for their antimicrobial properties, yet the utilization of phage therapy for the treatment of wound infections relies on a suitable delivery system. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a thermally responsive polymer which undergoes a temperature dependent phase transition at a critical solution temperature. Bacteriophage K has been successfully formulated with PNIPAM nanospheres copolymerized with allylamine (PNIPAM-co-ALA). By utilizing a temperature responsive polymer it has been possible to engineer the nanospheres to collapse at an elevated temperature associated with a bacterial skin infection. The nanogels were reacted with surface deposited maleic anhydride in order to anchor the nanogels to non-woven fabric. Bacteriophage incorporated PNIPAM-co-ALA nanospheres demonstrated successful bacterial lysis of a clinically relevant bacterial isolate - Staphylococcus aureus ST228 at 37°C, whilst bacterial growth was unaffected at 25°C, thus providing a thermally triggered release of bacteriophage.Dynamic Light Scattering IR Spectroscopy Zeta Potential MeasurementsGraphs created in Origi

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-allylamine) (PNIPAM-co-ALA) 5 nanospheres for the thermally triggered release of Bacteriophage K

Due to the increased prevalence of resistant bacterial isolates which are no longer susceptible to antibiotic treatment, recent emphasis has been placed on finding alternative modes of treatment of wound infections. Bacteriophage have long been investigated for their antimicrobial properties, yet the utilization of phage therapy for the treatment of wound infections relies on a suitable delivery system. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a thermally responsive polymer which undergoes a temperature dependent phase transition at a critical solution temperature. Bacteriophage K has been successfully formulated with PNIPAM nanospheres copolymerized with allylamine (PNIPAM-co-ALA). By utilizing a temperature responsive polymer it has been possible to engineer the nanospheres to collapse at an elevated temperature associated with a bacterial skin infection. The nanogels were reacted with surface deposited maleic anhydride in order to anchor the nanogels to non-woven fabric. Bacteriophage incorporated PNIPAM-co-ALA nanospheres demonstrated successful bacterial lysis of a clinically relevant bacterial isolate - Staphylococcus aureus ST228 at 37°C, whilst bacterial growth was unaffected at 25°C, thus providing a thermally triggered release of bacteriophage

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-allylamine) (PNIPAM-co-ALA) 5 nanospheres for the thermally triggered release of Bacteriophage K

Due to the increased prevalence of resistant bacterial isolates which are no longer susceptible to antibiotic treatment, recent emphasis has been placed on finding alternative modes of treatment of wound infections. Bacteriophage have long been investigated for their antimicrobial properties, yet the utilization of phage therapy for the treatment of wound infections relies on a suitable delivery system. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a thermally responsive polymer which undergoes a temperature dependent phase transition at a critical solution temperature. Bacteriophage K has been successfully formulated with PNIPAM nanospheres copolymerized with allylamine (PNIPAM-co-ALA). By utilizing a temperature responsive polymer it has been possible to engineer the nanospheres to collapse at an elevated temperature associated with a bacterial skin infection. The nanogels were reacted with surface deposited maleic anhydride in order to anchor the nanogels to non-woven fabric. Bacteriophage incorporated PNIPAM-co-ALA nanospheres demonstrated successful bacterial lysis of a clinically relevant bacterial isolate - Staphylococcus aureus ST228 at 37°C, whilst bacterial growth was unaffected at 25°C, thus providing a thermally triggered release of bacteriophage

Characterization of a rationally engineered nitric oxide, nitrate and nitrite biosensor linked to a hybrid bacterial-­mammalian promoter

<p>Synthetic biology is principally concerned with the rational design and engineering of biological systems that serve useful applied purposes. Biosensors are of particular interest to the field since they serve a broad array of applications, such as medical devices, environmental sensors for the detection of contaminants, toxins or pathogens or in metabolic engineering, to monitor product formation. In this study, we describe the characterization of a family of four nitric oxide, nitrate and nitrite whole­cell biosensors that are based upon a hybrid bacterial­-mammalian promoter design. The hybrid­ design of the synthetic promoter has been engineered for the detection of these nitrogenous species across both bacterial (Escherichia coli) and mammalian systems (MCF­-7). As such, these biosensors may be useful across applications as diverse as cancer therapeutics and the agricultural monitoring of nitrates and nitrites in fertiliser­ treated soil. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of these biosensors in E. coli confirmed that all four biosensor designs (termed B­M_eCFP, B­M_mRFP, M­B_eCFP and M­B_mRFP) were able to quantitatively detect 5-­20 mM of potassium nitrate. In summary, these pilot data suggest that, with further characterisation, this family of biosensors will be able to assess nitrogenous species present within both bacterial (E. coli) and mammalian systems (MCF­7).</p