Antibiotic stress, genetic response and altered permeability of E. coli.
BACKGROUND
Membrane permeability is the first step involved in resistance of bacteria to an antibiotic. The number and activity of efflux pumps and outer membrane proteins that constitute porins play major roles in the definition of intrinsic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria that is altered under antibiotic exposure.


RESULTS
Here we describe the genetic regulation of porins and efflux pumps of Escherichia coli during prolonged exposure to increasing concentrations of tetracycline and demonstrate, with the aid of quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction methodology and western blot detection, the sequence order of genetic expression of regulatory genes, their relationship to each other, and the ensuing increased activity of genes that code for transporter proteins of efflux pumps and down-regulation of porin expression.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that, in addition to the transcriptional regulation of genes coding for membrane proteins, the post-translational regulation of proteins involved in the permeability of Gram-negative bacteria also plays a major role in the physiological adaptation to antibiotic exposure. A model is presented that summarizes events during the physiological adaptation of E. coli to tetracycline exposure.
Viveiros
Miguel
M
Unit of Mycobacteriology, Unidade de Parasitologia e Microbiologia Médicas (UPMM), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
Dupont
Myrielle
M
Rodrigues
Liliana
L
Couto
Isabel
I
Davin-Regli
Anne
A
Martins
Marta
M
Pagès
Jean-Marie
JM
Amaral
Leonard
L
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D010539:Permeability
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins