Local bacteria affect the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs.

In this study, the potential effects of bacteria on the efficacy of frequently used chemotherapies was examined. Bacteria and cancer cell lines were examined in vitro and in vivo for changes in the efficacy of cancer cell killing mediated by chemotherapeutic agents. Of 30 drugs examined in vitro, the efficacy of 10 was found to be significantly inhibited by certain bacteria, while the same bacteria improved the efficacy of six others. HPLC and mass spectrometry analyses of sample drugs (gemcitabine, fludarabine, cladribine, CB1954) demonstrated modification of drug chemical structure. The chemoresistance or increased cytotoxicity observed in vitro with sample drugs (gemcitabine and CB1954) was replicated in in vivo murine subcutaneous tumour models. These findings suggest that bacterial presence in the body due to systemic or local infection may influence tumour responses or off-target toxicity during chemotherapy.

Microbiota of human breast tissue.

In recent years, a greater appreciation for the microbes inhabiting human body sites has emerged. In the female mammary gland, milk has been shown to contain bacterial species, ostensibly reaching the ducts from the skin. We decided to investigate whether there is a microbiome within the mammary tissue. Using 16S rRNA sequencing and culture, we analyzed breast tissue from 81 women with and without cancer in Canada and Ireland. A diverse population of bacteria was detected within tissue collected from sites all around the breast in women aged 18 to 90, not all of whom had a history of lactation. The principal phylum was Proteobacteria. The most abundant taxa in the Canadian samples were Bacillus (11.4%), Acinetobacter (10.0%), Enterobacteriaceae (8.3%), Pseudomonas (6.5%), Staphylococcus (6.5%), Propionibacterium (5.8%), Comamonadaceae (5.7%), Gammaproteobacteria (5.0%), and Prevotella (5.0%). In the Irish samples the most abundant taxa were Enterobacteriaceae (30.8%), Staphylococcus (12.7%), Listeria welshimeri (12.1%), Propionibacterium (10.1%), and Pseudomonas (5.3%). None of the subjects had signs or symptoms of infection, but the presence of viable bacteria was confirmed in some samples by culture. The extent to which these organisms play a role in health or disease remains to be determined.

Bacterial systems for gene delivery to systemic tumors.

Certain bacteria have emerged as biological gene vectors with natural tumor specificity, capable of specifically delivering genes or gene products to the tumor environment when intravenously (i.v.) administered to rodent models. Here, we describe procedures for studying this phenomenon in vitro and in vivo for both invasive and noninvasive bacteria suitable for exploitation as tumor-specific therapeutic delivery vehicles, due to their ability to replicate specifically within tumors and/or mediate bacterial-mediated transfer of plasmid DNA to mammalian cells (bactofection).

A mariner transposon-based signature-tagged mutagenesis system for the analysis of oral infection by Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive foodborne pathogen and the causative agent of listerosis a disease that manifests predominately as meningitis in the non-pregnant individual or infection of the fetus and spontaneous abortion in pregnant women. Common-source outbreaks of foodborne listeriosis are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. However, relatively little is known concerning the mechanisms that govern infection via the oral route. In order to aid functional genetic analysis of the gastrointestinal phase of infection we designed a novel signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) system based upon the invasive L. monocytogenes 4b serotype H7858 strain. To overcome the limitations of gastrointestinal infection by L. monocytogenes in the mouse model we created a H7858 strain that is genetically optimised for oral infection in mice. Furthermore our STM system was based upon a mariner transposon to favour numerous and random transposition events throughout the L. monocytogenes genome. Use of the STM bank to investigate oral infection by L. monocytogenes identified 21 insertion mutants that demonstrated significantly reduced potential for infection in our model. The sites of transposon insertion included lmOh7858_0671 (encoding an internalin homologous to Lmo0610), lmOh7858_0898 (encoding a putative surface-expressed LPXTG protein homologous to Lmo0842), lmOh7858_2579 (encoding the HupDGC hemin transport system) and lmOh7858_0399 (encoding a putative fructose specific phosphotransferase system). We propose that this represents an optimised STM system for functional genetic analysis of foodborne/oral infection by L. monocytogenes.

Bacteria and tumours: causative agents or opportunistic inhabitants?

Associations between different bacteria and various tumours have been reported in patients for decades. Studies involving characterisation of bacteria within tumour tissues have traditionally been in the context of tumourigenesis as a result of bacterial presence within healthy tissues, and in general, dogma holds that such bacteria are causative agents of malignancy (directly or indirectly). While evidence suggests that this may be the case for certain tumour types and bacterial species, it is plausible that in many cases, clinical observations of bacteria within tumours arise from spontaneous infection of established tumours. Indeed, growth of bacteria specifically within tumours following deliberate systemic administration has been demonstrated for numerous bacterial species at preclinical and clinical levels. We present the available data on links between bacteria and tumours, and propose that besides the few instances in which pathogens are playing a pathogenic role in cancer, in many instances, the prevalent relationship between solid tumours and bacteria is opportunistic rather than causative, and discuss opportunities for exploiting tumour-specific bacterial growth for cancer treatment.

Signature tagged mutagenesis in the functional genetic analysis of gastrointestinal pathogens.

Signature tagged mutagenesis is a genetic approach that was developed to identify novel bacterial virulence factors. It is a negative selection method in which unique identification tags allow analysis of pools of mutants in mixed populations. The approach is particularly well suited to functional genetic analysis of the gastrointestinal phase of infection in foodborne pathogens and has the capacity to guide the development of novel vaccines and therapeutics. In this review we outline the technical principles underpinning signature-tagged mutagenesis as well as novel sequencing-based approaches for transposon mutant identification such as TraDIS (transposon directed insertion-site sequencing). We also provide an analysis of screens that have been performed in gastrointestinal pathogens which are a global health concern (Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Helicobacter pylori, Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella enterica). The identification of key virulence loci through the use of signature tagged mutagenesis in mice and relevant larger animal models is discussed.

Subinhibitory concentrations of the cationic antimicrobial peptide colistin induce the pseudomonas quinolone signal in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Colistin is an important cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) in the fight against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) lungs. The effects of subinhibitory concentrations of colistin on gene expression in P. aeruginosa were investigated by transcriptome and functional genomic approaches. Analysis revealed altered expression of 30 genes representing a variety of pathways associated with virulence and bacterial colonization in chronic infection. These included response to osmotic stress, motility, and biofilm formation, as well as genes associated with LPS modification and quorum sensing (QS). Most striking was the upregulation of Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) biosynthesis genes, including pqsH, pqsB and pqsE, and the phenazine biosynthesis operon. Induction of this central component of the QS network following exposure to subinhibitory concentrations of colistin may represent a switch to a more robust population, with increased fitness in the competitive environment of the CF lung.