Protein interaction studies of curli fimbriae in Escherichia coli biofilms.

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) caused by biofilms on indwelling medical devices are the most common type of nosocomial infections, a major health concern due to complications and frequent recurrence. The infections are most often caused by Escherichia coli. Curli are proteinaceous components of a complex extracellular matrix produced by various strains of Enterobacteriaceae. Curli fibers are involved with adhesion to surfaces, cell aggregation and biofilm formation. Therefore, it is of interest to study the protein interactions in curli biogenesis, identifying proteins involved in curli biogenesis, the interactions and development of a combinatorial library of novel lead molecules against biofilm formation by Escherichia coli. Targeting the CsgG protein of Escherichia coli could provide new treatment modalities to fight CAUTIs, better. This study may also help study infections caused by various strains of Enterobacteriaceae, in general.

Phytochemical derivatives targeting fliJ flagellar protein from Escherichia coli.

Approximately 50 per cent of nosocomial infections are caused by the use of indwelling medical devices. The surfaces of devices are ideal sites of attachment for bacterial cells and an increase in biofilm formation. Biofilms have been a constant concern due to their complex extracellular matrix (ECM) resulting in multiple drug resistance. E. coli is known to associate with biofilms. Therefore it is of interest to identify the proteins associated to biofilm formation in Escherichia coli through literature survey, investigate their protein-protein interactions and identify indispensible proteins of biofilm formation. These proteins were further analyzed and fliJ was identified as the target, based on betweenness, centrality and radiality. 87 phytochemicals were found to be associated with the microbe in question and were docked with the target using Molegro Virtual Docker (MVD) 5.0. The results showed that geranyl pyrophosphate, ferulic acid 4-o-b-d-glucuronide, 5-8'-dehydrodiferulic acid and geranyl diphosphate showed maximum activity. A combinatorial library of 96 models was generated using the four phytochemicals binding with fliJ.