Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is difficult to treat using available antibiotic agents. Honeybee venom has been widely used as an oriental treatment for several inflammatory diseases and bacterial infections. The venom contains predominantly biologically active compounds, however, the therapeutic effects of such materials when used to treat MRSA infections have not been investigated extensively. The present study evaluated bee venom and its principal active component, melittin, in terms of their antibacterial activities and in vivo protection against MRSA infections. In vitro, bee venom and melittin exhibited comparable levels of antibacterial activity, which was more marked against MRSA strains, compared with other Gram-positive bacteria. When MRSA-infected mice were treated with bee venom or melittin, only the latter animals were successfully rescued from MRSA- induced bacteraemia or exhibited recovery from MRSA-infected skin wounds. Together, the data of the present study demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that melittin may be used as a promising antimicrobial agent to enhance the healing of MRSA-induced wounds.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common respiratory bacterial pathogen among cases of community-acquired infection in young children, older adults, and individuals with underlying medical conditions. Although capsular polysaccharide-based pneumococcal vaccines have contributed to significant decrease in invasive pneumococcal infections, these vaccines have some limitations, including limited serotype coverage, lack of effective mucosal antibody responses, and high costs. In this study, we investigated the safety and immunogenicity of a live, whole-cell pneumococcal vaccine constructed by deleting the gene for prolipoprotein diacylglyceryl transferase ( lgt ) from the encapsulated pneumococcal strain TIGR4 (TIGR4Δ lgt ) for protection against heterologous pneumococcal strains. Pneumococcal strain TIGR4 was successfully attenuated by deletion of lgt , resulting in the loss of inflammatory activity and virulence. TIGR4Δ lgt colonized the nasopharynx long enough to induce strong mucosal IgA and IgG2b-dominant systemic antibody responses that were cross-reactive to heterologous pneumococcal serotypes. Finally, intranasal immunization with TIGR4Δ lgt provided serotype-independent protection against pneumococcal challenge in mice. Taken together, our results suggest that TIGR4Δ lgt is an avirulent and attractive broad-spectrum pneumococcal vaccine candidate. More broadly, we assert that modulation of such “master” metabolic genes represents an emerging strategy for developing more effective vaccines against numerous infectious agents.

A critical limitation of Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) as an anti-cancer agent is the loss of their invasive or replicative activities, which results in no or less delivery of anti-cancer agents inside cancer cells in cancer therapy. Here we developed an oxytolerant attenuated Salmonella strain (KST0650) from the parental KST0649 (ΔptsIΔcrr) strain using radiation mutation technology (RMT). The oxytolerant KST0650 strain possessed 20-times higher replication activity in CT26 cancer cells and was less virulent than KST0649. Furthermore, KST0650 migrated effectively into tumor tissues in mice. KST0650 was further equipped with a plasmid harboring a spliced form of the intracellular proapoptotic protein sATF6, and the expression of sATF6 was controlled by the radiation-inducible recN promoter. The new strain was named as KST0652, in which sATF6 protein expression was induced in response to radiation in a dose-dependent manner. This strain was effectively delivered inside cancer cells and tumor tissues via the Salmonella type III secretion system (T3SS). In addition, combination treatment with KST0652 and radiation showed a synergistic anti-tumor effect in murine tumor model with complete inhibition of tumor growth and protection against death. In conclusion, we showed that RMT can be used to effectively develop an anti-tumor Salmonella strain for delivering anti-cancer agents inside tumors.Spontaneous mutations have been extensively used as sources of novel genetic diversity for selecting new improved organisms 1,2 . After the discovery of X-rays and γ-rays, ionizing radiation (IR)-induced mutation breeding is being widely used to generate genetic variability in various organisms 3,4 . After penetrating inside tissues, γ-rays directly disrupt DNA via deposition of energy, or indirectly via ionization, which generates free radicals from radiolysis of water 5-7 . Even though chemical mutagens and ultraviolet irradiation has been widely used for producing bacterial mutants, deletions and insertions are limitedly introduced in the genome. However, the effects of IR cause various types of random DNA mutations including deletions, insertions, and point mutations during DNA repair. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Joint Mutant Varieties Database indicated that over 87% of 3,200 mutant variants in 214 plant species, which were developed using RMT, have been released worldwide 8,9 . However, the use of this technique in bacteria is limited, especially for bacteria that are used for medical applications.Salmonella as a potential anti-cancer tool is valuable for treating cancer because of its selective colonizing and proliferative abilities in nonhypoxic and hypoxic regions 10-12 . However, the high virulence of Salmonella limits its application in cancer therapy. Hence, methods of developing attenuated Salmonella strains without

Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus [GBS]) is a leading cause of invasive diseases in neonates and severe infections in elderly individuals. GBS serine-rich repeat glycoprotein 1 (Srr1) acts as a critical virulence factor by facilitating GBS invasion into the central nervous system through interaction with the fibrinogen Aα chain. This study revealed that srr1 is highly conserved, with 86.7% of GBS clinical isolates expressing the protein. Vaccination of mice with different Srr1 truncated peptides revealed that only Srr1 truncates containing the latch domain protected against GBS meningitis. Furthermore, the latch peptide alone was immunogenic and elicited protective antibodies, which efficiently enhanced antibody-mediated opsonophagocytic killing of GBS by HL60 cells and provided heterogeneous protection against 4 different GBS serogroups. Taken together, these findings indicated that the latch domain of Srr1 may constitute an effective peptide vaccine candidate for GBS.