Low Affinity For Penicillin Research Articles

Paradoxical effect of inserting, in Enterococcus faecalis penicillin-binding protein 5, an amino acid box responsible for low affinity for penicillin in Enterococcus faecium.

Penicillin-binding proteins 5 (PBP5s) of enterococci are structurally and immunologically related proteins that are characterized by their low affinity for penicillin. For this reason, they are mainly involved in penicillin resistance, due essentially to their ability to take over the function of all other PBPs already bound and inhibited by the beta-lactam. It has been demonstrated that penicillin resistance in enterococci is acquired either by overproduction of PBP5 or by the presence of specific amino acid sequences in the protein that further decrease the affinity for penicillin. In particular, a specific amino acid box (ANNGA) previously identified in Enterococcus faecium is responsible for the high penicillin resistance displayed by this species. Here, we describe the insertion of the PBP5 amino acid box ANNGA in Enterococcus faecalis, an enterococcal species usually more sensitive to penicillin, by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutagenized PBP5 was re-introduced into a pbp5 mutant of E. faecalis obtained by insertion of transposon Tn916. Data indicate that this amino acid box brings about no reduction in penicillin sensitivity in the recipient E. faecalis strain, but, paradoxically, dramatically lowers the penicillin minimal inhibitory concentration caused by the native PBP5. We deduce that, although enterococcal PBP5s are a family of closely related proteins as far as biological function is concerned, differences exist in their three-dimensional structure that affect penicillin affinity.

The Crystal Structure of a Penicilloyl-serine Transferase of Intermediate Penicillin Sensitivity: THE dd-TRANSPEPTIDASE OFSTREPTOMYCES K15

The serine DD-transpeptidase/penicillin-binding protein of Streptomyces K15 catalyzes peptide bond formation in a way that mimics the penicillin-sensitive peptide cross-linking reaction involved in bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan assembly. The Streptomyces K15 enzyme is peculiar in that it can be considered as an intermediate between classical penicillin-binding proteins, for which benzylpenicillin is a very efficient inactivator, and the resistant penicillin-binding proteins that have a low penicillin affinity. With its moderate penicillin sensitivity, the Streptomyces K15 DD-transpeptidase would be helpful in the understanding of the structure-activity relationship of this penicillin-recognizing protein superfamily. The structure of the Streptomyces K15 enzyme has been determined by x-ray crystallography at 2.0-A resolution and refined to an R-factor of 18.6%. The fold adopted by this 262-amino acid polypeptide generates a two-domain structure that is close to those of class A beta-lactamases. However, the Streptomyces K15 enzyme has two particular structural features. It lacks the amino-terminal alpha-helix found in the other penicilloyl-serine transferases, and it exhibits, at its surface, an additional four-stranded beta-sheet. These two characteristics might serve to anchor the enzyme in the plasma membrane. The overall topology of the catalytic pocket of the Streptomyces K15 enzyme is also comparable to that of the class A beta-lactamases, except that the Omega-loop, which bears the essential catalytic Glu(166) residue in the class A beta-lactamases, is entirely modified. This loop adopts a conformation similar to those found in the Streptomyces R61 DD-carboxypeptidase and class C beta-lactamases, with no equivalent acidic residue.

Evolution of penicillin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae; the role of Streptococcus mitis in the formation of a low affinity PBP2B in S. pneumoniae

Penicillin-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae possess forms of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) that have a low affinity for penicillin compared to those from penicillin-sensitive strains. PBP genes from penicillin-resistant isolates are very variable and have a mosaic structure composed of blocks of nucleotides that are similar to those found in PBP genes from penicillin-sensitive isolates and blocks that differ by up to 21%. These chromosomally encoded mosaic genes have presumably arisen following transformation and homologous recombination with PBP genes from a number of closely related species. This study shows that PBP2B genes from many penicillin-resistant isolates of S. pneumoniae contain blocks of nucleotides originating from Streptococcus mitis. In several instances it would appear that this material alone is sufficient to produce a low affinity PBP2B. In other examples PBP2B genes possess blocks of nucleotides from S. mitis and at least one additional unidentified species. Mosaic structure was also found in the PBP2B genes of penicillin-sensitive isolates of S. mitis or S. pneumoniae. These mosaics did not confer penicillin resistance but nevertheless reveal something of the extent to which localized recombination occurs in these naturally transformable streptococci.

Identification of a genetic element (psr) which negatively controls expression of Enterococcus hirae penicillin-binding protein 5

Enterococcus hirae ATCC 9790 produces a penicillin-binding protein (PBP5) of low penicillin affinity which under certain conditions can take over the functions of all the other PBPs. The 7.1-kb EcoRI fragment containing the pbp5 gene of this strain and of two mutants, of which one (E. hirae R40) overproduces PBP5 and the other (E. hirae Rev14) does not produce PBP5, was cloned in pUC18 and sequenced. In the 7.1-kb EcoRI fragment cloned from strain ATCC 9790, an open reading frame (psr) potentially encoding a 19-kDa protein was identified 1 kb upstream of the pbp5 gene. An 87-bp deletion in this element was found in the 7.1-kb EcoRI fragment cloned from strains R40 and Rev14. In addition, several base substitutions were found in the pbp5 genes of strains R40 and Rev14. One of these converted the 42nd codon, TCA, to the stop codon, TAA, in the pbp5 gene of Rev14. Escherichia coli strains were transformed with plasmids carrying the 7.1-kb EcoRI insert or a 2.6-kb HincII insert containing only the pbp5 gene of the three strains. Immunoblotting analysis of proteins expressed by these transformants showed that the 87-bp deletion in psr was associated with the PBP5 overproducer phenotype of strain R40 and the conversion of the TCA codon to the stop codon was associated with the PBP5 nonproducer phenotype of strain Rev14. None of the other nucleotide substitutions had any apparent effect on the level of PBP5 synthesized.

Overproduction of a penicillin-binding protein is not the only mechanism of penicillin resistance in Enterococcus faecium.

In 1989 and 1990, a large number of ampicillin-resistant strains of Enterococcus faecium were isolated from infected patients treated at intensive care units in Berlin, Germany. Twenty-five clinical isolates, including five different biotypes as classified by acid production from various sugars and a wide range of susceptibilities to ampicillin (MICs between 0.5 and 128 micrograms/ml), were selected for a detailed analysis of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs). All strains contained a slowly reacting PBP with low penicillin affinity known to be present in enterococci. Overproduction of this PBP relative to susceptible isolates was noted, especially in all strains for which the MIC of ampicillin was 8 micrograms/ml, to a lesser degree in the more resistant strains, but not at all in the three highly resistant isolates for which the MIC was 128 micrograms/ml. In these three strains, this PBP appears to have a reduced affinity for beta-lactams. The results suggest that overproduction of PBP 6 correlates only with intermediate resistance levels and that higher resistance is mediated by yet another, still unknown mechanism, probably including reduction of beta-lactam affinity in one or more PBPs.

The Enterococcus hirae R40 penicillin-binding protein 5 and the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus penicillin-binding protein 2′ are similar

The penicillin-resistant Enterococcus hirae R40 has a typical profile of membrane-bound penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) except that the 71 kDa PBP5 of low penicillin affinity represents about 50% of all the PBPs present. Water-soluble tryptic-digest peptides were selectively produced from PBP5, their N-terminal regions were sequenced and synthetic oligonucleotides were used as primers to generate a 476 bp DNA fragment by polymerase chain reaction. On the basis of these data, the PBP5-encoding gene was cloned in Escherichia coli by using pBR322 as vector. The gene, included in a 7.1 kb insert, had the information for a 678-amino acid-residue protein. PBP5 shows similarity, in the primary structure, with the high-molecular-mass PBPs of class B. In particular, amino acid alignment of the enterococcal PBP5 and the methicillin-resistant staphylococcal PBP2' generates scores that are 30, for the N-terminal domains, and 53, for the C-terminal domains, standard deviations above that expected for a run of 20 randomized pairs of proteins having the same amino acid compositions as the two proteins under consideration.

Penicillin-Binding Proteins inStreptococcus pneumoniae:Alterations during Development of Intrinsic Penicillin Resistance

Four out of the five high molecular weight penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) of Streptococcus pneumoniae are involved in the development of intrinsic penicillin resistance. In beta-lactam resistant laboratory mutants, point mutations in the PBP 2x-genes were identified that result in low penicillin-affinity mutant proteins. In contrast, PBPs 1a, 2x, and 2b of resistant clinical isolates are highly altered as can be recognized biochemically and immunologically; DNA sequence analysis of the PBP 2x gene from resistant strains confirmed these results. The variability of the three PBPs analyzed implies a very heterogeneous gene pool accessible to the pneumococcus that is used for recruitment of resistant PBP genes in wild type strains.

Characterization of an Enterococcus hirae penicillin-binding protein 3 with low penicillin affinity

Enterococcus hirae S185, a clinical isolate from swine intestine, exhibits a relatively high resistance to penicillin and contains two 77-kDa penicillin-binding proteins 3 of high (PBP 3s) and low (PBP 3r) affinity to penicillin, respectively. A laboratory mutant S185r has been obtained which overproduces PBP 3r and has a highly increased resistance to penicillin. Peptide fragments specifically produced by trypsin and SV8 protease digestions of PBP 3r were isolated, and the amino acid sequences of their amino terminal regions were determined. On the basis of these sequences, oligonucleotides were synthesized and used as primers to generate, by polymerization chain reaction, a 233-bp DNA fragment the sequence of which translated into a 73-amino-acid peptide segment of PBP 3r. These structural data led to the conclusion that the E. hirae PBP 3r and the methicillin-resistant staphylococcal PBP 2' are members of the same class of high-Mr PBPs. As shown by immunological tests, PBP 3r is not related to PBP 3s but, in contrast, is related to the 71-kDa PBP 5 of low penicillin affinity which is responsible for penicillin resistance in E. hirae ATCC 9790 and R40.

Mechanisms of resistance of enterococci to beta-lactam antibiotics

Two mechanisms are responsible for resistance of enterococci to beta-lactam antibiotics: alterations of penicillin-binding proteins and production of a beta-lactamase. The latter has been found in a few clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecalis, whereas the former appears to account for resistance in most strains. A correlation has been established between the amount of a particular penicillin-binding protein which has a low affinity for penicillin and the level of resistance. The higher activity of some penicillins, as compared to cephalosporins, has been related to the relatively higher affinity for these penicillins of the penicillin-binding protein involved in the mechanism of resistance. Alterations in the autolytic enzyme pattern have been associated with the paradoxical response to bactericidal activity of penicillin often exhibited by Enterococcus faecalis clinical isolates.

Transition from resistance to hypersusceptibility to beta-lactam antibiotics associated with loss of a low-affinity penicillin-binding protein in a Streptococcus faecium mutant highly resistant to penicillin.

Penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 5 of Streptococcus faecium has been shown to have a very low affinity for penicillin, and this PBP was suggested to be responsible for both the natural low susceptibility and high resistance to the antibiotic in this species (R. Fontana, R. Cerini, P. Longoni, A. Grossato, and P. Canepari, J. Bacteriol. 155:1343-1350, 1983). In this study, an S. faecium mutant (Rev 14) hypersusceptible to penicillin was derived from the highly resistant S. faecium R40 treated with novobiocin, and its properties were compared with those of the parent and S. faecium PS, a relatively susceptible strain from which R40 was isolated. The hypersusceptible strain did not synthesize PBP 5, but it did resemble the parent in cell morphology, growth rate, and autolytic activity. In addition, it was highly susceptible to other beta-lactams but remained as susceptible as R40 and PS to antibiotics of a different mechanisms of action. The affinity of individual PBPs for the beta-lactams tested was the same in all the strains. This finding suggested that Rev 14 hypersusceptibility was due to the lack of PBP 5 and strongly supported the role of this protein in the mechanism of both natural low susceptibility and high-level resistance to beta-lactams in S. faecium.