pmc logo image
Logo of aacAntimicrob Agents Chemother SubscriptionsAntimicrob Agents Chemother Web Site

Formats:

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1987 July; 31(7): 1106–1110.
PMCID: PMC174879
Influence of beta-lactam antibiotics and ciprofloxacin on cell envelope of Escherichia coli.
S Suerbaum, H Leying, H P Kroll, J Gmeiner, and W Opferkuch
Abteilung für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Immunologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Federal Republic of Germany.
Abstract
The effects of subinhibitory concentrations of different beta-lactam antibiotics and one quinolone on the quantitative composition of the outer membrane (OM) of two strains of Escherichia coli, on lipid translocation into the OM, and on the production of capsular K1 polysaccharide were studied. The phospholipid/amino acid ratio was reduced in almost all OM preparations from antibiotic-treated bacteria. In one strain, antibiotic treatment increased the lipopolysaccharide/amino acid ratio. The amount of peptidoglycan fragments bound to the OM was increased by all the antibiotics. In pulse-chase experiments with a radioactive lipid precursor, ciprofloxacin, imipenem, and aztreonam inhibited phospholipid translocation into the OM. Furthermore, imipenem, cephaloridine, and ciprofloxacin induced a pronounced reduction of the production of capsular K1 polysaccharide. Thus, antibiotics seem to induce marked changes of the quantitative composition of the cell envelope of E. coli. Possible connections of these data with findings on the influence of antibiotics on functional parameters of the host-parasite relationship such as OM immunogenicity and serum resistance are discussed.
Full text
Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (1.0M), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
  • Bassaris HP, Lianou PE, Votta EG, Papavassiliou JT. Effects of subinhibitory concentrations of cefotaxime on adhesion and polymorphonuclear leukocyte function with gram-negative bacteria. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1984 Sep;14 Suppl B:91–96. [PubMed]
  • Bortolussi R, Ferrieri P, Björkstén B, Quie PG. Capsular K1 polysaccharide of Escherichia coli: relationship to virulence in newborn rats and resistance to phagocytosis. Infect Immun. 1979 Jul;25(1):293–298. [PubMed]
  • Braun V, Wolff H. Attachment of lipoprotein to murein (peptidoglycan) of Escherichia coli in the presence and absence of penicillin FL 1060. J Bacteriol. 1975 Sep;123(3):888–897. [PubMed]
  • Dougherty TJ, Saukkonen JJ. Membrane permeability changes associated with DNA gyrase inhibitors in Escherichia coli. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1985 Aug;28(2):200–206. [PubMed]
  • Essig P, Martin HH, Gmeiner J. Murein and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis in synchronized cells of Escherichia coli K 12 and the effect of penicillin G, mecillinam and nalidixic acid. Arch Microbiol. 1982 Sep;132(3):245–250. [PubMed]
  • FOLCH J, LEES M, SLOANE STANLEY GH. A simple method for the isolation and purification of total lipides from animal tissues. J Biol Chem. 1957 May;226(1):497–509. [PubMed]
  • Friedman H, Warren GH. Antibody-mediated bacteriolysis: enhanced killing of cyclacillin-treated bacteria. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1976 Nov;153(2):301–304. [PubMed]
  • Gmeiner J, Kroll HP, Martin HH. The covalent rigid-layer lipoprotein in cell walls of Proteus mirabilis. Eur J Biochem. 1978 Feb 1;83(1):227–233. [PubMed]
  • Horne D, Hakenbeck R, Tomasz A. Secretion of lipids induced by inhibition of peptidoglycan synthesis in streptococci. J Bacteriol. 1977 Nov;132(2):704–717. [PubMed]
  • James R. Identification of an outer membrane protein of Escherichia coli, with a role in the coordination of deoxyribonucleic acid replication and cell elongation. J Bacteriol. 1975 Nov;124(2):918–929. [PubMed]
  • Kadurugamuwa JL, Anwar H, Brown MR, Zak O. Effect of subinhibitory concentrations of cephalosporins on surface properties and siderophore production in iron-depleted Klebsiella pneumoniae. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1985 Feb;27(2):220–223. [PubMed]
  • Kadurugamuwa JL, Anwar H, Brown MR, Zak O. Protein antigens of encapsulated Klebsiella pneumoniae surface exposed after growth in the presence of subinhibitory concentrations of cephalosporins. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1985 Aug;28(2):195–199. [PubMed]
  • Karch H, Gmeiner J, Nixdorff K. Alteration of the immunoglobulin G subclass responses in mice to lipopolysaccharide: effects of nonbacterial proteins and bacterial membrane phospholipids or outer membrane proteins of Proteus mirabilis. Infect Immun. 1983 Apr;40(1):157–165. [PubMed]
  • Karch H, Nixdorff K. Antibody-producing cell responses to an isolated outer membrane protein and to complexes of this antigen with lipopolysaccharide or with vesicles of phospholipids from Proteus mirabilis. Infect Immun. 1981 Mar;31(3):862–867. [PubMed]
  • Karkhanis YD, Zeltner JY, Jackson JJ, Carlo DJ. A new and improved microassay to determine 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate in lipopolysaccharide of Gram-negative bacteria. Anal Biochem. 1978 Apr;85(2):595–601. [PubMed]
  • Kroll HP, Bhakdi S, Taylor PW. Membrane changes induced by exposure of Escherichia coli to human serum. Infect Immun. 1983 Dec;42(3):1055–1066. [PubMed]
  • Kusecek B, Wloch H, Mercer A, Vaisänen V, Pluschke G, Korhonen T, Achtman M. Lipopolysaccharide, capsule, and fimbriae as virulence factors among O1, O7, O16, O18, or O75 and K1, K5, or K100 Escherichia coli. Infect Immun. 1984 Jan;43(1):368–379. [PubMed]
  • Leying H, Suerbaum S, Kroll HP, Karch H, Opferkuch W. Influence of beta-lactam antibiotics and ciprofloxacin on composition and immunogenicity of Escherichia coli outer membrane. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1986 Sep;30(3):475–480. [PubMed]
  • LOWRY OH, ROBERTS NR, LEINER KY, WU ML, FARR AL. The quantitative histochemistry of brain. I. Chemical methods. J Biol Chem. 1954 Mar;207(1):1–17. [PubMed]
  • Markwell MA, Haas SM, Bieber LL, Tolbert NE. A modification of the Lowry procedure to simplify protein determination in membrane and lipoprotein samples. Anal Biochem. 1978 Jun 15;87(1):206–210. [PubMed]
  • Ofek I, Beachey EH, Eisenstein BI, Alkan ML, Sharon N. Suppression of bacterial adherence by subminimal inhibitory concentrations of beta-lactam and aminoglycoside antibiotics. Rev Infect Dis. 1979 Sep–Oct;1(5):832–837. [PubMed]
  • Opal S, Cross A, Gemski P. K antigen and serum sensitivity of rough Escherichia coli. Infect Immun. 1982 Sep;37(3):956–960. [PubMed]
  • Pluschke G, Mayden J, Achtman M, Levine RP. Role of the capsule and the O antigen in resistance of O18:K1 Escherichia coli to complement-mediated killing. Infect Immun. 1983 Dec;42(3):907–913. [PubMed]
  • Ruttkowski E, Nixdorff K. Qualitative and quantitative changes in the antibody producing cell response to lipopolysaccharide induced after incorporation of the antigen into bacterial membrane phospholipid vesicles. J Immunol. 1980 Jun;124(6):2548–2551. [PubMed]
  • Weeke B. Rocket immunoelectrophoresis. Scand J Immunol Suppl. 1973;1:37–46. [PubMed]