Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Organisms Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Organisms

Peptidomimetic Small Molecules Disrupt Type Iv Secretion System Activity In Diverse Bacterial Pathogens, Carrie L. Shaffer, James A.D. Good, Santosh Kumar, K. Syam Krishnan, Jennifer A. Gaddy, John T. Loh, Joseph Chappell, Fredrik Almqvist, Timothy L. Cover, Maria Hadjifrangiskou Apr 2016

Peptidomimetic Small Molecules Disrupt Type Iv Secretion System Activity In Diverse Bacterial Pathogens, Carrie L. Shaffer, James A.D. Good, Santosh Kumar, K. Syam Krishnan, Jennifer A. Gaddy, John T. Loh, Joseph Chappell, Fredrik Almqvist, Timothy L. Cover, Maria Hadjifrangiskou

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Bacteria utilize complex type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) to translocate diverse effector proteins or DNA into target cells. Despite the importance of T4SSs in bacterial pathogenesis, the mechanism by which these translocation machineries deliver cargo across the bacterial envelope remains poorly understood, and very few studies have investigated the use of synthetic molecules to disrupt T4SS-mediated transport. Here, we describe two synthetic small molecules (C10 and KSK85) that disrupt T4SS-dependent processes in multiple bacterial pathogens. Helicobacter pylori exploits a pilus appendage associated with the cag T4SS to inject an oncogenic effector protein (CagA) and peptidoglycan into gastric epithelial cells. In …


Wake Me When It's Over- Bacterial Toxin-Antitoxin Proteins And Induced Dormancy, Nathan P. Coussens, Dayle A. Daines Jan 2016

Wake Me When It's Over- Bacterial Toxin-Antitoxin Proteins And Induced Dormancy, Nathan P. Coussens, Dayle A. Daines

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Toxin-antitoxin systems are encoded by bacteria and archaea to enable an immediate response to environmental stresses, including antibiotics and the host immune response. During normal conditions, the antitoxin components prevent toxins from interfering with metabolism and arresting growth; however, toxin activation enables microbes to remain dormant through unfavorable conditions that might continue over millions of years. Intense investigations have revealed a multitude of mechanisms for both regulation and activation of toxin-antitoxin systems, which are abundant in pathogenic microorganisms. This minireview provides an overview of the current knowledge regarding type II toxin-antitoxin systems along with their clinical and environmental implications.