Methods to Inhibit Bacterial Pyomelanin Production and Determine the Corresponding Increase in Sensitivity to Oxidative Stress

Summary

Bacterial pyomelanin production results in increased resistance to oxidative stress and virulence. We report on techniques that can be used to determine inhibition of pyomelanin production and assay the resulting increase in sensitivity to oxidative stress in bacteria, as well as determine antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).

Abstract

Pyomelanin is an extracellular red-brown pigment produced by several bacterial and fungal species. This pigment is derived from the tyrosine catabolism pathway and contributes to increased oxidative stress resistance. Pyomelanin production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is reduced in a dose dependent manner through treatment with 2-[2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC). We describe a titration method using multiple concentrations of NTBC to determine the concentration of drug that will reduce or abolish pyomelanin production in bacteria. The titration method has an easily quantifiable outcome, a visible reduction in pigment production with increasing drug concentrations. We also describe a microtiter plate method to assay antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in bacteria. This method uses a minimum of resources and can easily be scaled up to test multiple antibiotics in one microtiter plate for one strain of bacteria. The MIC assay can be adapted to test the affects of non-antibiotic compounds on bacterial growth at specific concentrations. Finally, we describe a method for testing bacterial sensitivity to oxidative stress by incorporating H₂O₂ into agar plates and spotting multiple dilutions of bacteria onto the plates. Sensitivity to oxidative stress is indicated by reductions in colony number and size for the different dilutions on plates containing H₂O₂ compared to a no H₂O₂ control. The oxidative stress spot plate assay uses a minimum of resources and low concentrations of H₂O₂. Importantly, it also has good reproducibility. This spot plate assay could be adapted to test bacterial sensitivity to various compounds by incorporating the compounds in agar plates and characterizing the resulting bacterial growth.

Introduction

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram negative bacterium that produces a variety of pigments including pyomelanin, a red-brown pigment that helps provide protection from oxidative stress^1-4 and binds a variety of compounds, including aminoglycoside antibiotics^5-7. Pyomelanin production is caused by a defect in the tyrosine catabolism pathway^4,8, either through deletions or mutations of the gene encoding homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase (HmgA)^1,9 or through imbalances in the various enzymes in the pathway¹⁰. Homogentisate accumulates due to inactivation of HmgA, and is secreted and oxidized to form pyomelanin^....

Protocol

1. Preparation of Culture Media, Antibiotics, and 2-[2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC)

1. Make LB broth (1% tryptone, 0.5% yeast extract, 0.25% NaCl in H₂O) and aliquot into appropriate volumes. Sterilize by autoclave. Store at room temperature.
2. Make 100 ml LB agar (1% tryptone, 0.5% yeast extract, 0.25% NaCl, 1.5% agar in H₂O) in 250 ml flasks. Sterilize by autoclave and store at room temperature. Ensure that the agar is melted before pouring into plates.
   NOTE: Flasks containing 100 ml of LB agar will yield 4 plates. The amount of LB agar can be altered to correspond to the number of plates....

Results

NTBC titrations

The NTBC titrations were used to determine if NTBC was able to reduce pyomelanin production in P. aeruginosa, and also identify the concentration of NTBC that eliminates or reduces pyomelanin production for use in additional assays. There may be variations in the levels of pyomelanin produced in different replications, but general trends remain constant. The NTBC titration assay could also be modified to test other compounds that may affect pigment production in other .......

Discussion

The NTBC titration method described in this protocol will allow the user to determine if NTBC can reduce or eliminate pyomelanin production in bacteria, and determine the concentration of NTBC required. The most critical step in the NTBC titration assay is determining the range of NTBC concentrations to use in the assay. Different strains of P. aeruginosa have different sensitivities to NTBC, and laboratory strains may be more sensitive to NTBC than clinical isolates¹² (Figure 2). The.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
2-[2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC)	Sigma-Aldrich	SML0269-50mg	Also called nitisinone.  Soluble in DMSO.
H2O2	Sigma-Aldrich	216763-100ML	30 wt. % in H2O.  Stabilized.
Gentamicin	Gold Bio	G-400-100	Soluble in H2O.  Filter sterilize.
Kanamycin	Fisher Scientific	BP906-5	Soluble in H2O.  Filter sterilize.
Tobramycin	Sigma-Aldrich	T4014-100MG	Soluble in H2O.  Filter sterilize.