All Outputs (108)

To boil an egg: substrate binding affects critical stability in thermal unfolding of proteins (2018)
Journal Article
Hussain, R., Hughes, C. S., Jávorfi, T., Siligardi, G., Williams, P., & Bonev, B. B. (2018). To boil an egg: substrate binding affects critical stability in thermal unfolding of proteins. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 122(8), 2213-2218. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b10643

Thermal unfolding of proteins is used extensively in screening of drug candidates because molecular interactions with ligands and substrates affect strongly protein stability, transition temperature, and cooperativity. We use synchrotron radiation ci... Read More about To boil an egg: substrate binding affects critical stability in thermal unfolding of proteins.

In Silico and in Vitro-Guided Identification of Inhibitors of Alkylquinolone-Dependent Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2018)
Journal Article
Soukarieh, F., Vico Oton, E., Dubern, J.-F., Gomes, J., Halliday, N., de Pilar Crespo, M., Ramírez-Prada, J., Insuasty, B., Abonia, R., Quiroga, J., Heeb, S., Williams, P., Stocks, M., & Cámara, M. (2018). In Silico and in Vitro-Guided Identification of Inhibitors of Alkylquinolone-Dependent Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Molecules, 23(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23020257

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major opportunistic pathogen in cystic fibrosis, wound and nosocomial infections, posing a serious burden to public health, due to its antibiotic resistance. The P. aeruginosa Pseudomonas Quinolone System (pqs) quorum sens... Read More about In Silico and in Vitro-Guided Identification of Inhibitors of Alkylquinolone-Dependent Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Prediction of Broad-Spectrum Pathogen Attachment to Coating Materials for Biomedical Devices (2018)
Journal Article
Dundas, A. A., Mikulskis, P., Hook, A., Dundas, A., Irvine, D., Sanni, O., Anderson, D., Langer, R., Alexander, M. R., Williams, P., & Winkler, D. A. (2018). Prediction of Broad-Spectrum Pathogen Attachment to Coating Materials for Biomedical Devices. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10(1), 139-149. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b14197

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Bacterial infections in healthcare settings are a frequent accompaniment to both routine procedures such as catheterization and surgical site interventions. Their impact is becoming even more marked as the numbers of... Read More about Prediction of Broad-Spectrum Pathogen Attachment to Coating Materials for Biomedical Devices.

Genome-wide mapping of the RNA targets of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa riboregulatory protein RsmN (2018)
Journal Article
Romero, M., Silistre, H., Lovelock, L., Wright, V. J., Kok, G.-C., Kar-Wai, H., Williams, P., Cámara, M., & Heeb, S. (2018). Genome-wide mapping of the RNA targets of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa riboregulatory protein RsmN. Nucleic Acids Research, 46(13), 6823-6840. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gky324

Pseudomonads typically carry multiple non-identical alleles of the post-transcriptional regulator rsmA. In P. aeruginosa, RsmN is notable in that its structural rearrangement confers distinct and overlapping functions with RsmA. However, little is k... Read More about Genome-wide mapping of the RNA targets of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa riboregulatory protein RsmN.

Weight gain during acute treatment of an initial pulmonary exacerbation is associated with a longer interval to the next exacerbation in adults with cystic fibrosis (2017)
Journal Article
Barr, H. L., Cámara, M., Barrett, D., Williams, P., Forrester, D., Smyth, A., Honeybourne, D., Whitehouse, J., Nash, E., Dewar, J., Knox, A., & Fogarty, A. W. (in press). Weight gain during acute treatment of an initial pulmonary exacerbation is associated with a longer interval to the next exacerbation in adults with cystic fibrosis. ERJ Open Research, 3(3), https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00057-2017

Water contact angle is not a good predictor of biological responses to materials (2017)
Journal Article
Alexander, M. R., & Williams, P. (in press). Water contact angle is not a good predictor of biological responses to materials. Biointerphases, 12(2), Article 02C201. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4989843

Often the view is expressed that water contact angle (WCA) or other wettability/surface energy measurements made on a material surface can be used to predict cellular attachment to materials, e.g., bacteria attach to hydrophobic surfaces. In this art... Read More about Water contact angle is not a good predictor of biological responses to materials.

Development and characterization of a stable adhesive bond between a poly(dimethylsiloxane) catheter material and a bacterial biofilm resistant acrylate polymer coating (2017)
Journal Article
Tyler, B. J., Hook, A. L., Pelster, A., Williams, P., Alexander, M. R., & Arlinghaus, H. F. (2017). Development and characterization of a stable adhesive bond between a poly(dimethylsiloxane) catheter material and a bacterial biofilm resistant acrylate polymer coating. Biointerphases, 12(2), Article 02C412. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4984011

Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CA-UTIs) are the most common health related infections world wide, contributing significantly to patient morbidity and mortality and increased health care costs. To reduce the incidence of these infection... Read More about Development and characterization of a stable adhesive bond between a poly(dimethylsiloxane) catheter material and a bacterial biofilm resistant acrylate polymer coating.

Environmental modification via a quorum sensing molecule influences the social landscape of siderophore production (2017)
Journal Article
Popat, R., Harrison, F., da Silva, A. C., Easton, S. A., McNally, L., Williams, P., & Diggle, S. P. (2017). Environmental modification via a quorum sensing molecule influences the social landscape of siderophore production. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1852), Article 20170200. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0200

Bacteria produce a wide variety of exoproducts that favourably modify their environment and increase their fitness. These are often termed ‘public goods’ because they are costly for individuals to produce and can be exploited by non-producers (‘cheat... Read More about Environmental modification via a quorum sensing molecule influences the social landscape of siderophore production.

Negative regulation of violacein biosynthesis in Chromobacterium violaceum (2017)
Journal Article
Devescovi, G., Kojic, M., Covaceuszach, S., Cámara, M., Williams, P., Bertani, I., Subramoni, S., & Venturi, V. (in press). Negative regulation of violacein biosynthesis in Chromobacterium violaceum. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, Article 349. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00349

In Chromobacteium violaceum, the purple pigment violacein is under positive regulation by the N-acylhomoserine lactone CviI/R quorum sensing system and negative regulation by an uncharacterized putative repressor. In this study we report that the bio... Read More about Negative regulation of violacein biosynthesis in Chromobacterium violaceum.

5-Hydroxyethyl-3-tetradecanoyltetramic acid represents a novel treatment for intravascular catheter infections due to Staphylococcus aureus (2016)
Journal Article
Zapotoczna, M., Murray, E. J., Hogan, S., O'Gara, J. P., Chhabra, S. R., Chan, W. C., O'Neill, E., & Williams, P. (2017). 5-Hydroxyethyl-3-tetradecanoyltetramic acid represents a novel treatment for intravascular catheter infections due to Staphylococcus aureus. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 72(3), 744-753. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkw482

Objectives: Biofilm infections of intravascular catheters caused by Staphylococcus aureus may be treated with catheter lock solutions (CLSs). Here we investigated the antibacterial activity, cytotoxicity and CLS potential of 5-hydroxyethyl-3-tetradec... Read More about 5-Hydroxyethyl-3-tetradecanoyltetramic acid represents a novel treatment for intravascular catheter infections due to Staphylococcus aureus.

Unravelling the Genome-Wide Contributions of Specific 2-Alkyl-4-Quinolones and PqsE to Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2016)
Journal Article
Rampioni, G., Falcone, M., Heeb, S., Frangipani, E., Fletcher, M. P., Dubern, J.-F., Visca, P., Leoni, L., Cámara, M., & Williams, P. (2016). Unravelling the Genome-Wide Contributions of Specific 2-Alkyl-4-Quinolones and PqsE to Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PLoS Pathogens, 12(11), e1006029. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006029

The pqs quorum sensing (QS) system is crucial for Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence both in vitro and in animal models of infection and is considered an ideal target for the development of anti-virulence agents. However, the precise role played by eac... Read More about Unravelling the Genome-Wide Contributions of Specific 2-Alkyl-4-Quinolones and PqsE to Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Making Silicone Rubber Highly Resistant to Bacterial Attachment Using Thiol-ene Grafting (2016)
Journal Article
Magennis, E. P., Hook, A. L., Williams, P., & Alexander, M. R. (2016). Making Silicone Rubber Highly Resistant to Bacterial Attachment Using Thiol-ene Grafting. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 8(45), 30780-30787. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b10986

Biomedical devices are indispensable in modern medicine yet offer surfaces that promote bacterial attachment and biofilm formation, resulting in acute and chronic healthcare-associated infections. We have developed a simple method to graft acrylates... Read More about Making Silicone Rubber Highly Resistant to Bacterial Attachment Using Thiol-ene Grafting.

Diagnostic and prognostic significance of systemic alkyl quinolones for P. aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis: a longitudinal study (2016)
Journal Article
Barr, H. L., Halliday, N., Barrett, D. A., Williams, P., Forrester, D. L., Peckham, D., Williams, K., Smyth, A. R., Honeybourne, D., L. Whitehouse, J., Nash, E. F., Dewar, J., Clayton, A., Knox, A. J., Cámara, M., & Fogarty, A. W. (2017). Diagnostic and prognostic significance of systemic alkyl quinolones for P. aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis: a longitudinal study. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, 16(2), 230-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcf.2016.10.005

Background
Pulmonary P. aeruginosa infection is associated with poor outcomes in cystic fibrosis (CF) and early diagnosis is challenging, particularly in those who are unable to expectorate sputum. Specific P. aeruginosa 2-alkyl-4-quinolones are det... Read More about Diagnostic and prognostic significance of systemic alkyl quinolones for P. aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis: a longitudinal study.

The fitness burden imposed by synthesising quorum sensing signals (2016)
Journal Article
Ruparell, A., Dubern, J.-F., Ortori, C. A., Harrison, F., Halliday, N., Emtage, A., Ashawesh, M., Laughton, C. A., Diggle, S. P., Williams, P., Barrett, D. A., & Hardie, K. R. (2016). The fitness burden imposed by synthesising quorum sensing signals. Scientific Reports, 6, Article 33101. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep33101

It is now well established that bacterial populations utilize cell-to-cell signaling (quorum-sensing, QS) to control the production of public goods and other co-operative behaviours. Evolutionary theory predicts that both the cost of signal productio... Read More about The fitness burden imposed by synthesising quorum sensing signals.

Application of Targeted Molecular and Material Property Optimization to Bacterial Attachment-Resistant (Meth)acrylate Polymers (2016)
Journal Article
Adlington, K., Nguyen, N. T., Eaves, E., Yang, J., Chang, C. Y., Li, J., Gower, A. L., Stimpson, A., Anderson, D. G., Langer, R., Davies, M. C., Hook, A. L., Williams, P., Alexander, M. R., & Irvine, D. J. (2016). Application of Targeted Molecular and Material Property Optimization to Bacterial Attachment-Resistant (Meth)acrylate Polymers. Biomacromolecules, 17(9), 2830-2838. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.6b00615

© 2016 American Chemical Society. Developing medical devices that resist bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation is highly desirable. In this paper, we report the optimization of the molecular structure and thus material properties of a... Read More about Application of Targeted Molecular and Material Property Optimization to Bacterial Attachment-Resistant (Meth)acrylate Polymers.

Cystic Fibrosis isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa retain iron-regulated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus through the action of multiple alkylquinolones (2016)
Journal Article
Nguyen, A. T., Jones, J. W., Cámara, M., Williams, P., Kane, M. A., & Oglesby-Sherrouse, A. G. (2016). Cystic Fibrosis isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa retain iron-regulated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus through the action of multiple alkylquinolones. Frontiers in Microbiology, 7, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01171

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a hereditary disease that predisposes individuals to pulmonary dysfunction and chronic infections. Early infection of the CF lung with Staphylococcus aureus is common, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa becomes dominant as disease p... Read More about Cystic Fibrosis isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa retain iron-regulated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus through the action of multiple alkylquinolones.

Yersinia virulence factors: a sophisticated arsenal for combating host defences (2016)
Journal Article
Atkinson, S., & Williams, P. (2016). Yersinia virulence factors: a sophisticated arsenal for combating host defences. F1000Research, 5, 1370. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.8466.1

The human pathogens Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica cause enterocolitis, while Yersinia pestis is responsible for pneumonic, bubonic, and septicaemic plague. All three share an infection strategy that relies on a virulence fac... Read More about Yersinia virulence factors: a sophisticated arsenal for combating host defences.

PqsBC, a condensing enzyme in the biosynthesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal: crystal structure, inhibition, and reaction mechanism (2016)
Journal Article
Drees, S. L., Li, C., Prasetya, F., Saleem, M., Dreveny, I., Williams, P., Hennecke, U., Emsley, J., & Fetzner, S. (2016). PqsBC, a condensing enzyme in the biosynthesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal: crystal structure, inhibition, and reaction mechanism. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291(13), https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M115.708453

Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces a number of alkylquinolone-type secondary metabolites best known for their antimicrobial effects and involvement in cell-cell communication. In the alkylquinolone biosynthetic pathway, the β-ketoacyl-(acyl carrier prot... Read More about PqsBC, a condensing enzyme in the biosynthesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal: crystal structure, inhibition, and reaction mechanism.

Engineering serendipity: High-throughput discovery of materials that resist bacterial attachment (2015)
Journal Article
Magennis, E., Hook, A., Davies, M., Alexander, C., Williams, P., & Alexander, M. R. (2016). Engineering serendipity: High-throughput discovery of materials that resist bacterial attachment. Acta Biomaterialia, 34, 84-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2015.11.008

Controlling the colonisation of materials by microorganisms is important in a wide range of industries and clinical settings. To date, the underlying mechanisms that govern the interactions of bacteria with material surfaces remain poorly understood,... Read More about Engineering serendipity: High-throughput discovery of materials that resist bacterial attachment.

Integrated whole-genome screening for Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence genes using multiple disease models reveals that pathogenicity is host specific (2015)
Journal Article
Dubern, J., Cigana, C., De Simone, M., Lazenby, J., Juhas, M., Schwager, S., Bianconi, I., Döring, G., Eberl, L., Williams, P., Bragonzi, A., & Camara Garcia, M. (2015). Integrated whole-genome screening for Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence genes using multiple disease models reveals that pathogenicity is host specific. Environmental Microbiology, 17(11), 4379-4393. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12863