ABSTRACT Bacillus anthracis
, the etiological agent of anthrax, has a dormant stage in its life cycle known as the endospore. When conditions become favorable, spores germinate and transform into vegetative bacteria. In inhalational anthrax, the most fatal manifestation of the disease, spores enter the organism through the respiratory tract and germinate in phagosomes of alveolar macrophages. Germinated cells can then produce toxins and establish infection. Thus, germination is a crucial step for the initiation of pathogenesis.
B. anthracis
spore germination is activated by a wide variety of amino acids and purine nucleosides. Inosine and
l
-alanine are the two most potent nutrient germinants
in vitro
. Recent studies have shown that germination can be hindered by isomers or structural analogues of germinants. 6-Thioguanosine (6-TG), a guanosine analogue, is able to inhibit germination and prevent
B. anthracis
toxin-mediated necrosis in murine macrophages. In this study, we screened 46 different nucleoside analogues as activators or inhibitors of
B. anthracis
spore germination
in vitro
. These compounds were also tested for their ability to protect the macrophage cell line J774a.1 from
B. anthracis
cytotoxicity. Structure-activity relationship analysis of activators and inhibitors clarified the binding mechanisms of nucleosides to
B. anthracis
spores. In contrast, no structure-activity relationships were apparent for compounds that protected macrophages from
B. anthracis
-mediated killing. However, multiple inhibitors additively protected macrophages from
B. anthracis
.
摘要
炭疽杆菌
炭疽杆菌是炭疽病的病原体,在其生命周期中有一个称为内生孢子的休眠阶段。当条件有利时,孢子发芽并转化为无性繁殖细菌。在吸入性炭疽这种最致命的疾病中,孢子通过呼吸道进入机体,并在肺泡巨噬细胞的吞噬体中发芽。发芽的细胞随后可产生毒素并形成感染。因此,发芽是启动致病机制的关键步骤。
炭疽杆菌
孢子萌发是由多种氨基酸和嘌呤核苷激活的。肌苷和
l
-丙氨酸是两种最有效的营养萌发剂
体外
.最近的研究表明,萌芽剂的异构体或结构类似物会阻碍萌芽。6-Thioguanosine (6-TG)是一种鸟苷类似物,能够抑制萌芽并防止炭疽杆菌的萌发。
炭疽杆菌
毒素介导的小鼠巨噬细胞坏死。在这项研究中,我们筛选了 46 种不同的核苷类似物作为炭疽杆菌毒素的激活剂或抑制剂。
炭疽杆菌
孢子萌发
体外
.我们还测试了这些化合物保护巨噬细胞系 J774a.1 免受炭疽杆菌感染的能力。
炭疽杆菌
细胞毒性的能力。激活剂和抑制剂的结构-活性关系分析阐明了核苷与炭疽杆菌的结合机制。
炭疽杆菌
孢子的结合机制。与此相反,保护巨噬细胞免受炭疽杆菌侵袭的化合物却没有明显的结构-活性关系。
炭疽杆菌
-介导的杀灭。然而,多种抑制剂相加可保护巨噬细胞免受
炭疽杆菌
.