Pneumococci are major pathogens that continue to cause invasive disease in humans. Acquisition of resistance to many of the most useful antibacterial agents including penicillin has been reported and such resistant pneumococci have already caused human disease causing serious problems to chemotherapy, including treatment failure. Any strategy for the prevention of the spread of these bacteria requires a better understanding of the nature of genetic determinants, their possible origin and mode of dissemination and the biochemical basis of resistance. Our previous studies have established that penicillin resistance mutations cause remodeling of the pneumococcal penicillin binding proteins (PBPs) as evidenced by changes in drug affinity, copy number, and electrophoretic pattern of one or the other of four PBPs. An unexpected finding was that several of the highly penicillin resistant clinical isolates was also tolerant to penicillin: even when treated with the elevated concentrations of penicillin above the minimum growth inhibitory concentration (MIC) value, these cells would not lyse and would lose viability only slowly. Preliminary data suggest an alteration in autolysin control. The program planned for this application will have four points of concentration. 1) We plan to better define the number of genetic loci of penicillin resistance using genetic transformation with DNA isolated from clinical isolates from various geographic locales, various resistance levels and PBP patterns, and heterologous DNA from penicillin resistance STreptococcus viridans. We plan to clone the pneumococcal binding proteins, using homologous or heterologous cloning vehicles. 2) Biochemical experiments are planned to try to resolve the PBP alterations on the polypeptide level, using partial proteolytic digestion coupled with two-dimensional electrophoretic separation of acylated (penicilloyl) peptides from penicillin sensitive and isogenic resistant pneumococci, constructed by transformation. 3) The composition and fine structure of cell walls from penicillin sensitive and isogenic resistant transformants will be studied, using a combination of affinity chromatography and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems. 4) The biochemical basis of the newly discovered penicillin tolerance trait and the mechanism by which penicillin triggers autolytic activity will be investigated.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37)
Project #
5R37AI016794-07
Application #
3480889
Study Section
Bacteriology and Mycology Subcommittee 1 (BM)
Project Start
1980-04-01
Project End
1991-11-30
Budget Start
1987-12-01
Budget End
1988-11-30
Support Year
7
Fiscal Year
1988
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Rockefeller University
Department
Type
Graduate Schools
DUNS #
071037113
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10065
Severin, A; Figueiredo, A M; Tomasz, A (1996) Separation of abnormal cell wall composition from penicillin resistance through genetic transformation of Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Bacteriol 178:1788-92
Barnes, D M; Whittier, S; Gilligan, P H et al. (1995) Transmission of multidrug-resistant serotype 23F Streptococcus pneumoniae in group day care: evidence suggesting capsular transformation of the resistant strain in vivo. J Infect Dis 171:890-6
Heumann, D; Barras, C; Severin, A et al. (1994) Gram-positive cell walls stimulate synthesis of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6 by human monocytes. Infect Immun 62:2715-21
de Lencastre, H; Couto, I; Santos, I et al. (1994) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus disease in a Portuguese hospital: characterization of clonal types by a combination of DNA typing methods. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 13:64-73
de Lencastre, H; Tomasz, A (1994) Reassessment of the number of auxiliary genes essential for expression of high-level methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 38:2590-8
Cottagnoud, P; Tomasz, A (1993) Triggering of pneumococcal autolysis by lysozyme. J Infect Dis 167:684-90
Munoz, R; Coffey, T J; Daniels, M et al. (1991) Intercontinental spread of a multiresistant clone of serotype 23F Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Infect Dis 164:302-6
de Jonge, B L; de Lencastre, H; Tomasz, A (1991) Suppression of autolysis and cell wall turnover in heterogeneous Tn551 mutants of a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain. J Bacteriol 173:1105-10
Figueiredo, A M; Ha, E; Kreiswirth, B N et al. (1991) In vivo stability of heterogeneous expression classes in clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant staphylococci. J Infect Dis 164:883-7
Tauber, M G; Burroughs, M; Niemoller, U M et al. (1991) Differences of pathophysiology in experimental meningitis caused by three strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Infect Dis 163:806-11

Showing the most recent 10 out of 33 publications