by Keyword: Conjugation
Woythe, L, Tholen, MME, Rosier, BJHM, Albertazzi, L, (2023). Single-Particle Functionality Imaging of Antibody-Conjugated Nanoparticles in Complex Media Acs Applied Bio Materials 6, 171-181 
The properties of nanoparticles (NPs) can change upon contact with serum components, occluding the NP surface by forming a biomolecular corona. It is believed that targeted NPs can lose their functionality due to this biological coating, thus losing specificity and selectivity toward target cells and leading to poor therapeutic efficiency. A better understanding of how the biomolecular corona affects NP ligand functionality is needed to maintain NP targeting capabilities. However, techniques that can quantify the functionality of NPs at a single-particle level in a complex medium are limited and often laborious in sample preparation, measurement, and analysis. In this work, the influence of serum exposure on the functionality of antibody-functionalized NPs was quantified using a straightforward total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy method and evaluated in cell uptake studies. The single-particle resolution of TIRF reveals the interparticle functionality heterogeneity and the substantial differences between NPs conjugated with covalent and noncovalent methods. Notably, only NPs covalently conjugated with a relatively high amount of antibodies maintain their functionality to a certain extent and still showed cell specificity and selectivity toward high receptor density cells after incubation in full serum. The presented study emphasizes the importance of single-particle functional characterization of NPs in complex media, contributing to the understanding and design of targeted NPs that retain their cell specificity and selectivity in biologically relevant conditions.
JTD Keywords: binding, biomolecular corona, cell selectivity, heterogeneity, nanoparticle conjugation, protein corona, tirf microscopy, Active targeting, Biomolecular corona, Cell selectivity, Heterogeneity, Nanoparticle conjugation, Tirf microscopy
Hüttener, M, Hergueta, J, Bernabeu, M, Prieto, A, Aznar, S, Merino, S, Tomás, J, Juárez, A, (2022). Roles of Proteins Containing Immunoglobulin-Like Domains in the Conjugation of Bacterial Plasmids Msphere 7, e00978-21
Transmission of a plasmid from one bacterial cell to another, in several instances, underlies the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. The process requires well-characterized enzymatic machinery that facilitates cell-to-cell contact and the transfer of the plasmid.
JTD Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, bacterial ig-like proteins, bacterial lg-like proteins, chromosomal genes, identification, inca/c, mutational analysis, plasmid conjugation, products, r-factors, resistance plasmids, salmonella-enterica, sequence, Antimicrobial resistance, Bacterial ig-like proteins, Escherichia-coli, Plasmid conjugation
Gilbert, M., Juárez, A., Madrid, C., Balsalobre, C., (2013). New insights in the role of HtdA in the regulation of R27 conjugation Plasmid 
International Society for Plasmid Biology Meeting , Elsevier (Santander, Spain) 70 (1), 61-68
R27 is the prototype of the IncHI group of conjugative plasmids, which are associated with multidrug resistance in several relevant pathogens. The transfer of this plasmid is thermodependent and all transfer-related genes are encoded in six operons (tra operons). Very little is known about the factors involved in the regulation of the R27 conjugation. This report describes transcriptional studies of the six tra operons. Our results indicate that HtdA, encoded in the R27 plasmid, is involved in the transcriptional repression of four tra operons (F, H, AC and Z). Although HtdA plays a pivotal role in the transcriptional regulation of those operons, it does not exert its effect as a classical repressor. The data indicate the existence of a crosstalk between HtdA and other unknown regulatory factors. The HtdA-mediated regulation of conjugation is independent of the R27 H-NS protein.
JTD Keywords: Plasmid conjugation, IncHI, R27, tra Operons regulation, HtdA
Banos, R. C., Aznar, S., Madrid, C., Juarez, A., (2011). Differential functional properties of chromosomal- and plasmid-encoded H-NS proteins Research in Microbiology , 162, (4), 382-385
The nucleoid-associated protein H-NS can be either chromosomal- or plasmid-encoded. We provide in this report evidence indicating that chromosomal- and plasmid-encoded H-NS proteins may differ in their functional properties. The modulatory function of chromosomal H-NS is antagonized by the H-NSTEPEC protein. We show that the H-NS protein encoded by the IncHI plasmid R27 (H-NSR27) is less sensitive to H-NSTEPEC antagonism than its chromosomal counterpart. H-NSR27 plays a relevant role by modulating R27 conjugation in response to temperature. Hence, we suggest that this modulator has evolved to avoid the deregulation of R27 conjugation by H-NSTEPEC-like proteins.
JTD Keywords: H-NS, Conjugation, R27, H-NS antagonism, H-NSTEPEC
