RESUMO
Detecting antibiotic residues is vital to minimize their impact. Yet, existing methods are complex and costly. Biosensors offer an alternative. While many biosensors detect various antibiotics, specific ones for beta-lactams are lacking. To address this gap, a biosensor based on the AmpC beta-lactamase regulation system (ampR-ampC) from Pseudomonas sp. IB20, an Antarctic isolate, was developed in this study. The AmpR-AmpC system is well-conserved in the genus Pseudomonas and has been extensively studied for its involvement in peptidoglycan recycling and beta-lactam resistance. To create the biosensor, the ampC coding sequence was replaced with the mCherry fluorescent protein as a reporter, resulting in a transcriptional fusion. This construct was then inserted into Escherichia coli SN0301, a beta-lactam hypersensitive strain, generating a whole-cell biosensor. The biosensor demonstrated dose-dependent detection of penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems. However, the most interesting aspect of this work is the high sensitivity presented by the biosensor in the detection of carbapenems, as it was able to detect 8 pg/mL of meropenem and 40 pg/mL of imipenem and reach levels of 1-10 ng/mL for penicillins and cephalosporins. This makes the biosensor a powerful tool for the detection of beta-lactam antibiotics, specifically carbapenems, in different matrices.
Assuntos
Técnicas Biossensoriais , Proteína Vermelha Fluorescente , beta-Lactamas , Pseudomonas/genética , Pseudomonas/metabolismo , Regiões Antárticas , Antibacterianos , beta-Lactamases/genética , beta-Lactamases/metabolismo , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismo , Penicilinas , Cefalosporinas , Imipenem , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/metabolismo , Testes de Sensibilidade MicrobianaRESUMO
The marine environment is a rich reservoir of diverse biological entities, many of which possess unique properties that are of immense value to biotechnological applications. One such example is the red fluorescent protein derived from the coral Discosoma sp. This protein, encoded by the DsRed gene, has been the subject of extensive research due to its potential applications in various fields. In the study, a variant of the red fluorescent protein was generated through random mutagenesis using the DsRed2 gene as a template. The process employed error-prone PCR (epPCR) to introduce random mutations, leading to the isolation of twelve gene variants. Among these, one variant stood out due to its unique spectral properties, exhibiting dual fluorescence emission at both 480 nm (green) and 550 nm (red). This novel variant was expressed in both Escherichia coli and zebrafish (Danio rerio) muscle, confirming the dual fluorescence emission in both model systems. One of the immediate applications of this novel protein variant is in ornamental aquaculture. The dual fluorescence can serve as a unique marker or trait, enhancing the aesthetic appeal of aquatic species in ornamental settings.
Assuntos
Antozoários , Proteína Vermelha Fluorescente , Animais , Fluorescência , Peixe-Zebra/genética , Peixe-Zebra/metabolismo , Proteínas Luminescentes/genética , Proteínas Luminescentes/metabolismo , Antozoários/genética , Antozoários/metabolismo , Biotecnologia , Proteínas de Fluorescência VerdeRESUMO
Antimonials continue to be considered the first-line treatment for leishmaniases, but its use entails a wide range of side effects and serious reactions. The search of new drugs requires the development of methods more sensitive and faster than the conventional ones. We developed and validated a fluorescence assay based in the expression of tdTomato protein by Leishmania, and we applied this method to evaluate the activity in vitro of flavonoids and reference drugs. The pIR1SAT/tdTomato was constructed and integrated into the genome of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis. Parasites were selected with nourseothricin (NTC). The relation of L. amaz/tc3 fluorescence and the number of parasites was determined; then the growth in vitro and infectivity in BALB/c mice was characterized. To validate the fluorescence assay, the efficacy of miltefosine and meglumine antimoniate was compared with the conventional methods. After that, the method was used to assess in vitro the activity of flavonoids; and the mechanism of action of the most active compound was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy and ELISA. A linear correlation was observed between the emission of fluorescence of L. amaz/tc3 and the number of parasites (r2 = 0.98), and the fluorescence was stable in the absence of NTC. No differences were observed in terms of infectivity between L. amaz/tc3 and wild strain. The efficacy of miltefosine and meglumine antimoniate determined by the fluorescence assay and the microscopic test showed no differences, however, in vivo the fluorescence assay was more sensitive than limiting dilution assay. Screening assay revealed that the flavonoid galangin (GAL) was the most active compound with IC50 values of 53.09 µM and 20.59 µM in promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes, respectively. Furthermore, GAL induced mitochondrial swelling, lipid inclusion bodies and vacuolization in promastigotes; and up-modulated the production of IL-12 p70 in infected macrophages. The fluorescence assay is a useful tool to assess the anti-leishmanial activity of new compounds. However, the assay has some limitations in the macrophage-amastigote model that might be related with an interfere of flavanol aglycones with the fluorescence readout of tdTomato. Finally, GAL is a promising candidate for the development of new treatment against the leishmaniasis.
Assuntos
Antiprotozoários , Leishmania , Preparações Farmacêuticas , Animais , Antiprotozoários/uso terapêutico , Flavonoides , Proteínas Luminescentes , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Proteína Vermelha FluorescenteRESUMO
Biotechnology advances have allowed bacteria, yeasts, plants, mammalian and insect cells to function as heterologous protein expression systems. Recently, microalgae have gained attention as an innovative platform for recombinant protein production, due to low culture media cost, compared to traditional systems, as well as the fact that microalgae such as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are considered safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Previous studies showed that recombinant protein production in traditional platforms by semicontinuous process increased biomass and bio product productivity, when compared to batch process. As there is a lack of studies on semicontinuous process for recombinant protein production in microalgae, the production of recombinant mCherry fluorescent protein was evaluated by semicontinuous cultivation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in bubble column photobioreactor. This semicontinuous cultivation process was evaluated in the following conditions: 20%, 40%, and 60% culture portion withdrawal. The highest culture withdrawal percentage (60%) provided the best results, as an up to 161% increase in mCherry productivity (454.5 RFU h-1 - Relative Fluorescence Unit h-1 ), in comparison to batch cultivation (174.0 RFU h-1 ) of the same strain. All cultivations were carried out for 13 days, at pH 7, temperature 25°C and, by semicontinuous process, two culture withdrawals were taken during the cultivations. Throughout the production cycles, it was possible to obtain biomass concentration up to 1.36 g L-1 .
Assuntos
Técnicas de Cultura de Células/métodos , Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/metabolismo , Meios de Cultura/metabolismo , Substâncias Luminescentes/metabolismo , Proteínas Luminescentes/biossíntese , Fotobiorreatores/normas , Proteínas Recombinantes/biossíntese , Biomassa , Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/genética , Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Proteínas Luminescentes/genética , Proteínas Luminescentes/metabolismo , Proteínas Recombinantes/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes/metabolismo , Proteína Vermelha FluorescenteRESUMO
In a cell line, stably expressing α1A-adrenoceptors fused to the mCherry red fluorescent protein, noradrenaline, methoxamine, and oxymetazoline induced concentration-dependent increases in intracellular calcium. All of these agents increase α1A-adrenoceptor phosphorylation and internalization. Transient co-expression of these receptors with Rab proteins tagged with the enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein was employed to estimate α1A-adrenoceptor-Rab interaction using Förster Resonance Energy Transfer. Noradrenaline and methoxamine increased α1A-adrenoceptor interaction with Rab5 and Rab7 but did not modify it with Rab9. Oxymetazoline induced adrenoceptor interaction with Rab5 and Rab9 and only an insignificant increase in Rab7 signal. Phorbol myristate acetate increased α1A-adrenoceptor interaction with Rab5 and Rab9 but did not modify it with Rab7. The agonists and the active phorbol ester, all of which induce receptor phosphorylation and internalization, favor receptor interaction with Rab5, i.e., association with early endosomes. Cell stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate induced the α1A-adrenoceptors to interact with the late endosomal marker, Rab9, suggesting that the receptors are directed to slow recycling endosomes once they have transited to the Trans-Golgi network to be retrieved to the plasma membrane. The agonists noradrenaline and methoxamine likely induce a faster recycling and might direct some of the adrenoceptors toward degradation and/or very slow recycling to the plasma membrane. Oxymetazoline produced a mixed pattern of interaction with the Rab proteins. These data indicate that α1A-adrenoceptor agonists can trigger different vesicular traffic and receptor fates within the cells.
Assuntos
Agonistas de Receptores Adrenérgicos alfa 1/farmacologia , Ésteres de Forbol/farmacologia , Receptores Adrenérgicos alfa 1/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteínas rab de Ligação ao GTP/efeitos dos fármacos , Cálcio/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular , Endossomos/efeitos dos fármacos , Humanos , Proteínas Luminescentes , Metoxamina/farmacologia , Norepinefrina/farmacologia , Oximetazolina/farmacologia , Fosforilação , Acetato de Tetradecanoilforbol/farmacologia , Proteínas rab5 de Ligação ao GTP/efeitos dos fármacos , Rede trans-Golgi/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteína Vermelha FluorescenteRESUMO
Dengue is the single most important human viral infection transmitted by insects. The function of the viral proteins andtheir interactions with the host cell is under exhaustive investigation with the aim of identifying antiviral strategies. Here,using recombinant full-length dengue virus genomes, carrying a fluorescent mCherry fused to capsid, we studied biophysicalproperties of the viral protein during one infectious cycle in living cells. Dengue virus capsid protein associates to differentcellular compartments but its function in these locations is largely unknown. We evaluated the diffusion of capsid inside the celland determined a higher effective diffusion coefficient in the cytoplasm than in the nucleus. Using advanced fluorescencecorrelation methods, including the recently developed two-dimensional pair correlation analysis, we constructed for the first timehigh resolution maps of capsid mobility in an infected cell. We observed that the motion of capsid in the nucleoplasm-nucleolusinterface was highly organized, indicating an obstacle in this interface. Although nucleoli are membraneless structures, theydisplayed liquid-liquid phase separation. Once inside nucleoli, the protein showed isotropic mobility, indicating free diffusion orimmobilized capsid inside these structures. This is the first study presenting spatial and temporal dynamics of the dengue viruscapsid protein during infection.
Assuntos
Proteínas do Capsídeo/metabolismo , Vírus da Dengue/fisiologia , Dengue/virologia , Animais , Proteínas do Capsídeo/genética , Compartimento Celular , Linhagem Celular , Sistemas Computacionais , Cricetinae , Difusão , Fibroblastos , Genes Reporter , Humanos , Proteínas Luminescentes/análise , Proteínas Luminescentes/genética , Mesocricetus , Microscopia Confocal , Movimento (Física) , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/metabolismo , Espectrometria de Fluorescência , Frações Subcelulares/química , Imagem com Lapso de Tempo , Proteína Vermelha FluorescenteRESUMO
For long time, studies on ectomycorrhiza (ECM) have been limited by inefficient expression of fluorescent proteins (FPs) in the fungal partner. To convert this situation, we have evaluated the basic requirements of FP expression in the model ECM homobasidiomycete Laccaria bicolor and established eGFP and mCherry as functional FP markers. Comparison of intron-containing and intronless FP-expression cassettes confirmed that intron-processing is indispensable for efficient FP expression in Laccaria. Nuclear FP localization was obtained via in-frame fusion of FPs between the intron-containing genomic gene sequences of Laccaria histone H2B, while cytosolic FP expression was produced by incorporating the intron-containing 5' fragment of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase encoding gene. In addition, we have characterized the consensus Kozak sequence of strongly expressed genes in Laccaria and demonstrated its boosting effect on transgene mRNA accumulation. Based on these results, an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation compatible plasmid set was designed for easy use of FPs in Laccaria. The four cloning plasmids presented here allow fast and highly flexible construction of C-terminal in-frame fusions between the sequences of interest and the two FPs, expressed either from the endogenous gene promoter, allowing thus evaluation of the native regulation modes of the gene under study, or alternatively, from the constitutive Agaricus bisporus gpdII promoter for enhanced cellular protein localization assays. The molecular tools described here for cell-biological studies in Laccaria can also be exploited in studies of other biotrophic or saprotrophic basidiomycete species susceptible to genetic transformation.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Fluorescência Verde/genética , Laccaria/genética , Proteínas Luminescentes/genética , Plasmídeos/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/genética , Agrobacterium/genética , Basidiomycota/genética , Núcleo Celular/genética , Citosol/metabolismo , Regulação Fúngica da Expressão Gênica , Proteínas de Fluorescência Verde/metabolismo , Histonas/genética , Laccaria/metabolismo , Proteínas Luminescentes/metabolismo , Microrganismos Geneticamente Modificados , Microscopia de Fluorescência , Regiões Promotoras Genéticas , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/metabolismo , Transformação Genética , Proteína Vermelha FluorescenteRESUMO
We have previously shown that the small metal-binding protein (SmbP) extracted from the gram-negative bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea can be employed as a fusion protein for the expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. With the goal of increasing the amounts of SmbP-tagged proteins produced in the E. coli periplasm, we replaced the native SmbP signal peptide with three different signal sequences: two were from the proteins CusF and PelB, for transport via the Sec pathway, and one was the signal peptide from TorA, for transport via the Tat pathway. Expression of SmbP-tagged Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP) using these three alternative signal peptides individually showed a considerable increase in protein levels in the periplasm of E. coli as compared to its level using the SmbP signal sequence. Therefore, for routine periplasmic expression and purification of recombinant proteins in E. coli, we highly recommend the use of the fusion proteins PelB-SmbP or CusF-SmbP, since these signal sequences increase periplasmic production considerably as compared to the wild-type. Our work, finally, demonstrates that periplasmic expression for SmbP-tagged proteins is not limited to the Sec pathway, in that the TorA-SmbP construct can export reasonable quantities of folded proteins to the periplasm. Although the Sec route has been the most widely used, sometimes, depending on the nature of the protein of interest, for example, if it contains cofactors, it is more appropriate to consider using the Tat route over the Sec. SmbP therefore can be recommended in terms of its particular versatility when combined with signal peptides for the two different routes.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Clonagem Molecular/métodos , Nitrosomonas europaea/genética , Periplasma/metabolismo , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/genética , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismo , Proteínas de Transporte/genética , Proteínas de Transporte/metabolismo , Proteínas de Transporte de Cátions/genética , Proteínas de Transporte de Cátions/metabolismo , Proteínas de Transporte de Cobre , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Expressão Gênica , Genes Reporter , Vetores Genéticos/química , Vetores Genéticos/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ligação ao Ferro/genética , Proteínas de Ligação ao Ferro/metabolismo , Proteínas Luminescentes/genética , Proteínas Luminescentes/metabolismo , Nitrosomonas europaea/metabolismo , Oxirredutases N-Desmetilantes/genética , Oxirredutases N-Desmetilantes/metabolismo , Periplasma/química , Polissacarídeo-Liases/genética , Polissacarídeo-Liases/metabolismo , Sinais Direcionadores de Proteínas , Transporte Proteico , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/metabolismo , Proteína Vermelha FluorescenteRESUMO
While cellular invasion by T. cruzi trypomastigotes and intracellular amastigote replication are well-characterized events that have been described by using 2D monolayer cultures, other relevant parasite-host interactions, like the dynamics of tissue invasiveness, cannot be captured using monolayer cultures. Spheroids constitute a valuable three-dimensional (3D) culture system because they mimic the microarchitecture of tissues and provide an environment similar to the encountered in natural infections, which includes the presence of extracellular matrix as well as 3D cell-cell interactions. In this work, we describe a protocol for studying transmigration of T. cruzi trypomastigotes into 3D spheroids. In the experimental setup, cells and parasites are labelled with two fluorescent dyes, allowing their visualization by confocal microscopy. We also describe the general procedure and setting of the confocal microscope and downstream applications for acquisition and reconstruction of 3D images. This model was employed to analyze the transmigration of trypomastigotes from the highly virulent and pantropic RA T. cruzi strain. Of course, other aspects encountered by T. cruzi in the mammalian host environment can be studied with this methodology.
Assuntos
Doença de Chagas/patologia , Técnicas de Cocultura/métodos , Interações Hospedeiro-Parasita , Microscopia Confocal/métodos , Esferoides Celulares/patologia , Trypanosoma cruzi/fisiologia , Comunicação Celular , Movimento Celular , Doença de Chagas/parasitologia , Células HeLa , Humanos , Substâncias Luminescentes/análise , Proteínas Luminescentes/análise , Esferoides Celulares/citologia , Esferoides Celulares/parasitologia , Trypanosoma cruzi/citologia , Proteína Vermelha FluorescenteRESUMO
We present a multicolor fluorescence microscope system, under a selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) configuration, using three continuous wave-lasers and a single-channel-detection camera. The laser intensities are modulated with three time-delayed pulse trains that operate synchronously at one third of the camera frame rate, allowing a sequential excitation and an image acquisition of up to three different biomarkers. The feasibility of this imaging acquisition mode is demonstrated by acquiring single-plane multicolor images of living hyphae of Neurospora crassa. This allows visualizing simultaneously the localization and dynamics of different cellular components involved in apical growth in living hyphae. The configuration presented represents a noncommercial, cost-effective alternative microscopy system for the rapid and simultaneous acquisition of multifluorescent images and can be potentially useful for three-dimensional imaging of large biological samples.