Peptidyl-prolyl isomerase-B is involved in Mycobacterium tuberculosis biofilm formation and a generic target for drug repurposing-based intervention

NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2019 Jan 15;5(1):3. doi: 10.1038/s41522-018-0075-0. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB), a disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), takes one human life every 15 s globally. Disease relapse occurs due to incomplete clearance of the pathogen and reactivation of the antibiotic tolerant bacilli. M.tb, like other bacterial pathogens, creates an ecosystem of biofilm formed by several proteins including the cyclophilins. We show that the M.tb cyclophilin peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PpiB), an essential gene, is involved in biofilm formation and tolerance to anti-mycobacterial drugs. We predicted interaction between PpiB and US FDA approved drugs (cyclosporine-A and acarbose) by in-silico docking studies and this was confirmed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy. While all these drugs inhibited growth of Mycobacterium smegmatis (M.smegmatis) when cultured in vitro, acarbose and cyclosporine-A showed bacteriostatic effect while gallium nanoparticle (GaNP) exhibited bactericidal effect. Cyclosporine-A and GaNP additionally disrupted M.tb H37Rv biofilm formation. Co-culturing M.tb in their presence resulted in significant (2-4 fold) decrease in dosage of anti-tubercular drugs- isoniazid and ethambutol. Comparison of the cyclosporine-A and acarbose binding sites in PpiB homologues of other biofilm forming infectious pathogens revealed that these have largely remained unaltered across bacterial species. Targeting bacterial biofilms could be a generic strategy for intervention against bacterial pathogens.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acarbose / chemistry
  • Acarbose / metabolism*
  • Antitubercular Agents / chemistry
  • Antitubercular Agents / metabolism*
  • Biofilms / drug effects
  • Biofilms / growth & development*
  • Cyclophilins / chemistry
  • Cyclophilins / metabolism*
  • Cyclosporine / chemistry
  • Cyclosporine / metabolism*
  • Drug Repositioning
  • Gallium / metabolism
  • Microbial Viability / drug effects
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Mycobacterium smegmatis / drug effects
  • Mycobacterium smegmatis / growth & development
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / drug effects
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / enzymology*
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / growth & development*
  • Protein Binding
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents
  • cyclophilin B
  • Cyclosporine
  • Gallium
  • Cyclophilins
  • Acarbose