The bacteriophage K1/420 is a member of genus Kayvirus that was extensively studied as an alternative treatment to combat bacterial infections caused by antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. Despite the promise of phage therapy, the development of clinical applications of phages is facing regulatory and technical hurdles before it can receive acceptance in the Western World. Suitable simple and accurate diagnostic techniques to control the quality of the phage, which would satisfy the requirements of regulatory authorities are still being discussed. Here, we present the conditions for the simultaneous separation and detection of phage K1/420 and S. aureus by CZE and by CIEF were found, and the phage isoelectric point was determined to be 3.6. After removing the cell debris, the phage was successfully purified from the crude phage lysate and pre-concentrated by preparative isoelectric focusing. Its zone was localized by the positions of colored pI markers in the cellulose bed. The phage from the harvested zone had a decreased ability to infect its host. However, it was suitable for its separation, detection and identification by capillary electrophoretic methods, MALDI-TOF MS and electron microscopy.
Staphylococcus aureus is a major causative agent of infections associated with hospital environments, where antibiotic-resistant strains have emerged as a significant threat. Phage therapy could offer a safe and effective alternative to antibiotics. Phage preparations should comply with quality and safety requirements; therefore, it is important to develop efficient production control technologies. This study was conducted to develop and evaluate a rapid and reliable method for identifying staphylococcal bacteriophages, based on detecting their specific proteins using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) profiling that is among the suggested methods for meeting the regulations of pharmaceutical authorities. Five different phage purification techniques were tested in combination with two MALDI-TOF MS matrices. Phages, either purified by CsCl density gradient centrifugation or as resuspended phage pellets, yielded mass spectra with the highest information value if ferulic acid was used as the MALDI matrix. Phage tail and capsid proteins yielded the strongest signals whereas the culture conditions had no effect on mass spectral quality. Thirty-seven phages from Myoviridae, Siphoviridae or Podoviridae families were analysed, including 23 siphophages belonging to the International Typing Set for human strains of S. aureus, as well as phages in preparations produced by Microgen, Bohemia Pharmaceuticals and MB Pharma. The data obtained demonstrate that MALDI-TOF MS can be used to effectively distinguish between Staphylococcus-specific bacteriophages.
- MeSH
- biologické přípravky izolace a purifikace MeSH
- chemická frakcionace metody MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- replikace viru MeSH
- shluková analýza MeSH
- spektrometrie hmotnostní - ionizace laserem za účasti matrice * metody MeSH
- stafylokokové bakteriofágy klasifikace metabolismus MeSH
- Staphylococcus aureus virologie MeSH
- virové proteiny analýza chemie MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Exfoliative toxin A (ETA)-coding temperate bacteriophages are leading contributors to the toxic phenotype of impetigo strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Two distinct eta gene-positive bacteriophages isolated from S. aureus strains which recently caused massive outbreaks of pemphigus neonatorum in Czech maternity hospitals were characterized. The phages, designated φB166 and φB236, were able to transfer the eta gene into a prophageless S. aureus strain which afterwards converted into an ETA producer. Complete phage genome sequences were determined, and a comparative analysis of five designed genomic regions revealed major variances between them. They differed in the genome size, number of open reading frames, genome architecture, and virion protein patterns. Their high mutual sequence similarity was detected only in the terminal regions of the genome. When compared with the so far described eta phage genomes, noticeable differences were found. Thus, both phages represent two new lineages of as yet not characterized bacteriophages of the Siphoviridae family having impact on pathogenicity of impetigo strains of S. aureus.
- MeSH
- DNA virů chemie genetika MeSH
- DNA viry genetika izolace a purifikace MeSH
- epidemický výskyt choroby MeSH
- exfoliatiny genetika MeSH
- fylogeneze MeSH
- genom virový * MeSH
- impetigo epidemiologie mikrobiologie MeSH
- infekce spojené se zdravotní péčí epidemiologie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
- novorozenec MeSH
- otevřené čtecí rámce MeSH
- polymorfismus délky restrikčních fragmentů MeSH
- pořadí genů MeSH
- porodnice MeSH
- přenos genů horizontální MeSH
- profágy klasifikace genetika izolace a purifikace MeSH
- sekvenční analýza DNA MeSH
- sekvenční homologie MeSH
- shluková analýza MeSH
- stafylokokové bakteriofágy klasifikace genetika izolace a purifikace MeSH
- stafylokokové infekce epidemiologie mikrobiologie MeSH
- Staphylococcus aureus izolace a purifikace virologie MeSH
- syntenie MeSH
- transdukce genetická MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- novorozenec MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
The Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) confers methicillin resistance to Staphylococcus aureus. While SCCmec is generally regarded as a mobile genetic element, the precise mechanisms by which large SCCmec elements are exchanged between staphylococci have remained enigmatic. In the present studies, we observed that the clinical methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolate UMCG-M4 with the sequence type 398 contains four prophages belonging to the serological groups A, B and Fa. Previous studies have shown that certain serological group B bacteriophages of S. aureus are capable of generalized transduction. We therefore assessed the transducing capabilities of the phages from strain UMCG-M4. The results show that some of these phages can indeed transduce plasmid pT181 to the recipient S. aureus strain RN4220. Therefore, we also investigated the possible involvement of these transducing phages in the transmission of the large SCCmec type V (5C2&5) element of S. aureus UMCG-M4. While no transduction of the complete SCCmec element was observed, we were able to demonstrate that purified phage particles did contain large parts of the SCCmec element of the donor strain, including the methicillin resistance gene mecA. This shows that staphylococcal phages can encapsulate the resistance determinant mecA of a large SCCmec type V (5C2&5) element, which may lead to its transfer to other staphylococci.
- MeSH
- bakteriální geny * MeSH
- methicilin rezistentní Staphylococcus aureus genetika virologie MeSH
- plazmidy MeSH
- profágy genetika fyziologie MeSH
- rezistence na methicilin MeSH
- sestavení viru * MeSH
- stafylokokové bakteriofágy klasifikace genetika MeSH
- transdukce genetická * MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
