Advisor Information
Donald Rowen
Location
Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
1-3-2019 10:45 AM
End Date
1-3-2019 12:00 PM
Abstract
Pathogenic bacteria, such as the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are becoming resistant to our current arsenal of antibiotics at an alarming rate. P. aeruginosa is a leading cause of nosocomial acquired infections and is a primary co-morbidity in patients with compromised immune systems. One potential source of new antibiotic agents is antimicrobial peptides. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small proteins, and some have shown a high degree of efficacy and broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. An experimental AMP that has been developed by Dr. Wang at UNMC, DASamp2, has shown to be effective against virulent bacteria, including P. aeruginosa. To help assess the usefulness of DASamp2, members of the Rowen lab have isolated a mutant strain of P. aeruginosa with 8-fold resistance (RMB1) to the compound. This previous work established that the gene mexT might play a role in the increased resistance to DASamp2 observed in the RMB1 strain. We believe this gene is responsible for encoding a transcription activator that affects the expression of the MexEF-OprN efflux pump --a cellular structure that actively moves compounds out of a cell-- and that the target of DASamp2 must lay beyond the cell wall of P. aeruginosa. The goal of this project was to confirm that mexT was responsible for the increased resistance by restoring the wild type sensitivity to the experimental compound in the mutant strains.
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."
Targeted Therapy for the Future: the Use of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides against P. aeurginosa
Criss Library
Pathogenic bacteria, such as the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are becoming resistant to our current arsenal of antibiotics at an alarming rate. P. aeruginosa is a leading cause of nosocomial acquired infections and is a primary co-morbidity in patients with compromised immune systems. One potential source of new antibiotic agents is antimicrobial peptides. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small proteins, and some have shown a high degree of efficacy and broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. An experimental AMP that has been developed by Dr. Wang at UNMC, DASamp2, has shown to be effective against virulent bacteria, including P. aeruginosa. To help assess the usefulness of DASamp2, members of the Rowen lab have isolated a mutant strain of P. aeruginosa with 8-fold resistance (RMB1) to the compound. This previous work established that the gene mexT might play a role in the increased resistance to DASamp2 observed in the RMB1 strain. We believe this gene is responsible for encoding a transcription activator that affects the expression of the MexEF-OprN efflux pump --a cellular structure that actively moves compounds out of a cell-- and that the target of DASamp2 must lay beyond the cell wall of P. aeruginosa. The goal of this project was to confirm that mexT was responsible for the increased resistance by restoring the wild type sensitivity to the experimental compound in the mutant strains.
