Special seminar - Despoina Mavridou: Disulfide bond formation underpins antimicrobial resistance in Enterobacteria

  • Date: Feb 21, 2019
  • Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Despoina Mavridou from the Imperial College London, UK
  • Here you can find more information on the speaker: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/d.mavridou
  • Location: MPI Plön
  • Room: Lecture hall
  • Host: Daniel Unterweger

Abstract:

The disulfide bond formation (DSB) system has a central role in protein homeostasis by folding hundreds of proteins in the cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria. Whilst the importance of this pathway for bacterial virulence is well-established, its contribution to antimicrobial resistance is unknown. Here, we report that DSB proteins are necessary for the function of key antimicrobial resistance determinants. Resistance arising from the production of β-lactamases, mobile colistin resistance enzymes and RND efflux pumps in Enterobacteriaceae is dependent on DsbA. Moreover, chemical inhibition of disulfide bond
formation leads to sensitization of multidrug-resistant clinical isolates to existing antibiotic compounds. This makes the DSB system a promising antimicrobial resistance target, potentiating the use of existing drugs for the treatment of enteric pathogens.

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