Burkholderia thailandensis is a Gram-negative soil bacterium used as a model organism for B. pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis and an organism classified category B priority pathogen and a Tier 1 select agent for its potential use as a biological weapon. Burkholderia species are reportedly “highly resistant” to antimicrobial agents, including cyclic peptide antibiotics, due to multiple resistance systems, a hypothesis we decided to test using antimicrobial (host defense) peptides. In this study, a number of cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) were tested in vitro against B. thailandensis for both antimicrobial activity and inhibition of biofilm formation. Here, we report that the Chinese cobra (Naja atra) cathelicidin NA-CATH was significantly antimicrobial against B. thailandensis. Additional cathelicidins, including the human cathelicidin LL-37, a sheep cathelicidin SMAP-29, and some smaller ATRA peptide derivatives of NA-CATH were also effective. The D-enantiomer of one small peptide (ATRA-1A) was found to be antimicrobial as well, with EC50 in the range of the L-enantiomer. Our results also demonstrate that human alpha-defensins (HNP-1 & -2) and a short beta-defensin-derived peptide (Peptide 4 of hBD-3) were not bactericidal against B. thailandensis. We also found that the cathelicidin peptides, including LL-37, NA-CATH, and SMAP-29, possessed significant ability to prevent biofilm formation of B. thailandensis. Additionally, we show that LL-37 and its D-enantiomer D-LL-37 can disperse pre-formed biofilms. These results demonstrate that although B. thailandensis is highly resistant to many antibiotics, cyclic peptide antibiotics such as polymyxin B, and defensing peptides, some antimicrobial peptides including the elapid snake cathelicidin NA-CATH exert significant antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity towards B. thailandensis.

Francisella (F.) philomiragia is a Gram-negative bacterium with a preference for brackish environments that has been implicated in causing bacterial infections in near-drowning victims. The purpose of this study was to characterize the ability of F. philomiragia to infect cultured mammalian cells, a commonly used invertebrate model, and, finally, to characterize the ability of F. philomiragia to infect BALB/c mice via the pulmonary (intranasal) route of infection. This study shows that F. philomiragia infects J774A.1 murine macrophage cells, HepG2 cells and A549 human Type II alveolar epithelial cells. However, replication rates vary depending on strain at 24 h. F. philomiragia infection after 24 h was found to be cytotoxic in human U937 macrophage-like cells and J774A.1 cells. This is in contrast to the findings that F. philomiragia was non-cytotoxic to human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, HepG2 cells and A549 cells. Differential cytotoxicity is a point for further study. Here, it was demonstrated that F. philomiragia grown in host-adapted conditions (BHI, pH 6.8) is sensitive to levofloxacin but shows increased resistance to the human cathelicidin LL-37 and murine cathelicidin mCRAMP when compared to related the Francisella species, F. tularensis subsp. novicida and F. tularensis subsp. LVS. Previous findings that LL-37 is strongly upregulated in A549 cells following F. tularensis subsp. novicida infection suggest that the level of antimicrobial peptide expression is not sufficient in cells to eradicate the intracellular bacteria. Finally, this study demonstrates that F. philomiragia is lethal in two in vivo models; Galleria mellonella via hemocoel injection, with a LD50 of 1.8 × 103, and BALB/c mice by intranasal infection, with a LD50 of 3.45 × 103. In conclusion, F. philomiragia may be a useful model organism to study the genus Francisella, particularly for those researchers with interest in studying microbial ecology or environmental strains of Francisella. Additionally, the Biosafety level 2 status of F. philomiragia makes it an attractive model for virulence and pathogenesis studies.

Bacillus anthracis is a dangerous pathogen of humans and many animal species. Its virulence has been mainly attributed to the production of Lethal and Edema toxins as well as the antiphagocytic capsule. Recent data indicate that the nitric oxide (NO) synthase (baNOS) plays an important pathogenic role at the early stage of disease by protecting bacteria from the host reactive species and S-nytrosylating the mitochondrial proteins in macrophages. In this study we for the first time present evidence that bacteria-derived NO participates in the generation of highly reactive oxidizing species which could be abolished by the NOS inhibitor L - NAME, free thiols, and superoxide dismutase but not catalase. The formation of toxicants is likely a result of the simultaneous formation of NO and superoxide leading to a labile peroxynitrite and its stable decomposition product, nitrogen dioxide. The toxicity of bacteria could be potentiated in the presence of bovine serum albumin. This effect is consistent with the property of serum albumin to serves as a trap of a volatile NO accelerating its reactions. Our data suggest that during infection in the hypoxic environment of pre-mortal host the accumulated NO is expected to have a broad toxic impact on host cell functions.

Liposomes are one of the most studied nano-delivery systems. However, only a handful of formulations have received FDA approval. Existing liposome synthesis techniques are complex and specialized, posing a major impediment in design, implementation, and mass production of liposome delivery systems as therapeutic agents. Here, we demonstrate a unique 'synthesis and purification of injectable nanocarriers' (SPIN) technology for rapid and efficient production of small drug-loaded liposomes using common benchtop equipment. Unilamellar liposomes with mean diameter of 80 nm and polydispersity of 0.13 were synthesized without any secondary post-processing techniques. Encapsulation of dextrans (300-20,000 Da) representing small and large molecular drug formulations was demonstrated without affecting the liposome characteristics. 99.9% of the non-encapsulated molecules were removed using a novel filter centrifugation technique, largely eliminating the need for tedious ultracentrifugation protocols. Finally, the functional efficacy of loaded liposomes as drug delivery vehicles was validated by encapsulating a fluorescent cell tracker (CMFDA) and observing the liposomal release and subsequent uptake of dye by metastatic breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) in vitro. The proposed simplified technique addresses the existing challenges associated with liposome preparation in resource limited settings and offers significant potential for advances in translational pharmaceutical development.

No abstract