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Current Pharmaceutical Design

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1381-6128
ISSN (Online): 1873-4286

Research Article

mazE Antitoxin of Toxin Antitoxin System and fbpA as Reliable Targets to Eradication of Neisseria meningitidis

Author(s): Abbas Maleki, Sobhan Ghafourian, Iraj Pakzad, Behzad Badakhsh and Nourkhoda Sadeghifard*

Volume 24, Issue 11, 2018

Page: [1204 - 1210] Pages: 7

DOI: 10.2174/1381612824666171213094730

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: Neisseria meningitidis is considered as a dangerous pathogen threatening human health. Nowadays, the new drug target is focused. Toxin antitoxin (TA) system is recently identified as an antimicrobial drug target. Also, in N. meningitidis, iron-uptake system could be an interesting target for drug discovery.

Methods: In this study, fbpA and mazE genes were chosen as new antimicrobial targets and treated with antisense peptide nucleic acid (PNA). Firstly, they were evaluated by bioinformatics and then analyzed by experimental procedures. Secondly, the functionality was evaluated by stress conditions.

Results: Our results interestingly demonstrated that when fbpA and mazE loci of N. meningitidis were targeted by antisense PNA, 8 µM concentration of fbpA-PNA as well as 30 µM concentration of mazE-PNA inhibited the growth of N. meningitides and were found to be bacteriostatic, whereas 10 μM concentration of fbpA-PNA showed bacteriocidal activity.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated the bactriocidal activity of fbpA-PNA and bacteriostatic activity of mazEPNA. Therefore, mazE and fbpA genes should be potent antimicrobial targets but further analysis including in vivo analysis should be performed.

Keywords: Neisseria meningitidis, fbpA, mazE, mazF, drug discovery, iron-uptake system.


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