Modulation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae susceptibility to vertebrate antibacterial peptides due to a member of the resistance/nodulation/division efflux pump family.
Shafer. W M WM; Qu. X X; Waring. A J AJ; Lehrer. R I RI
Key Findings
- The mtr efflux system in Neisseria gonorrhoeae reduces susceptibility to LL‑37 and other antibacterial peptides.
- This pump works in an energy‑dependent way to export the peptides out of the bacterial cell.
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers, this research doesn’t provide a new protocol or supplement advice. It mainly highlights a bacterial resistance mechanism, suggesting that simply boosting LL‑37 levels may not overcome infections like gonorrhea. The findings are more relevant to microbiology and drug development than to personal health optimization.
Summary
The study shows that the bacteria that cause gonorrhea can use a pump (called mtr) to push out natural antimicrobial peptides like LL‑37, making them less effective at killing the bacteria.
Abstract
We have previously described the antibacterial capacity of protegrin-1 (PG-1), a cysteine-rich, cationic peptide from porcine leukocytes, against Neisseria gonorrhoeae. We now report genetic and biochemical evidence that gonococcal susceptibility to the lethal action of PG-1 and other structurally unrelated antibacterial peptides, including a peptide (LL-37) that is expressed constitutively by human granulocytes and testis and inducibly by keratinocytes, is modulated by an energy-dependent efflux system termed mtr. These results indicate that such efflux systems may enable mucosal pathogens like gonococci to resist endogenous antimicrobial peptides that are thought to act during infection.
Study Information
pubmed
1998
1998-02-17T00:00:00.000Z
10.1073/pnas.95.4.1829