The authors thank Dara Frank and Carrie Harwood for their generous contribution of strains. University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Research Foundation holds patent no. 8,354,451; with claims broadly directed to treating or inhibiting the progression of infection of a microorganism in a patient by administering a 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase-inhibiting compound such as 2-[2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC). Inventors are Graham Moran and Pang He. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R00-GM083147). The University of Washington P. aeruginosa transposon mutant library is supported by NIH P30 DK089507.

1. Preparation of Culture Media, Antibiotics, and 2-[2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC)
<ol>
	<li>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.</li>
	<li>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 pl...

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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...

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 stress1-4 and binds a variety of compounds, including aminoglycoside antibiotics5-7. Pyomelanin production is caused by a defect in the tyrosine catabolism pathway4,8, 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 pyomelanin11. Production of pyomelanin can be abolished or reduced in a dose dependent manner through treatment with the herbicide 2-[2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC)12, which inhibits 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (Hpd) in the tyrosine catabolism pathway13. Hpd is required for the formation of homogentisate, and therefore pyomelanin11. 
We describe in detail three techniques that were important in our studies of NTBC treatment of pyomelanin producing strains of P. aeruginosa. These techniques include titration of NTBC to determine the concentrations that will abolish or reduce pyomelanin production in laboratory and clinical pyomelanin producing strains, determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of antibiotics when bacteria are treated with NTBC, and the resulting sensitivity to oxidative stress with NTBC treatment.
The titration assay we developed serves two purposes. First, the assay will allow the user to determine if NTBC can abolish or reduce pyomelanin production in the bacterium being studied and at which concentrations. This will allow the user to determine sensitivity to NTBC, since different strains of bacteria may have different sensitivities to this compound, as observed in P. aeruginosa12. Second, the NTBC titration assay will allow the user to determine the appropriate concentration of NTBC to use in subsequent assays, such as antibiotic MIC and oxidative stress response assays, if the goal is to abolish or reduce pyomelanin production and determine the effects of pigment reduction. 
The titration assay works because a visible difference in pyomelanin production can be seen in strains treated with NTBC and the differences in pyomelanin production are dose dependent12. Additionally, this technique can be applied to the study of other compounds that may eliminate or enhance pigment production in bacteria.
Antibiotic MICs are used to determine the sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics. There are several methods to determine MICs, including agar dilution plates and broth dilutions14. Broth dilutions can be performed in small test tubes or in a 96-well microtiter plate. The microtiter plate method of MIC determination described herein will allow the user to test a wide range of antibiotics using a minimum of resources. The assay provides reproducibility as well as flexibility in the number of antibiotics and strains tested by this method. Additionally, with the incorporation of NTBC in the assay, the user can determine if elimination or reduction of pyomelanin production alters antibiotic sensitivity in bacteria that produce pyomelanin.
Bacterial response to oxidative stress can be tested in several ways. The most common methods described are either viable counts of bacteria subjected to oxidative stress for a period of time1, or oxidative stress disc diffusion assays15. These methods tend to use high concentrations of oxidative stressors to examine the effects of oxidative stress in bacteria and results can be quite variable between biological replicates. The viable count assay also tends to use more agar plates than the other methods. The spot plate assay we describe uses low concentrations of H2O2 and allows the user to test the oxidative stress response of multiple strains using a minimum of plates. The assay is also consistently reproducible between technical and biological replicates. As pyomelanin is involved in resistance to oxidative stress, the incorporation of NTBC in the assay allows the user to determine the effects of elimination of pyomelanin production on oxidative stress resistance.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>2-[2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>SML0269-50mg</td>
			<td>Also called nitisinone.&#160; Soluble in DMSO.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>H2O2</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>216763-100ML</td>
			<td>30 wt. % in H2O.&#160; Stabilized.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Gentamycin</td>
			<td>Gold Bio</td>
			<td>G-400-100</td>
			<td>Soluble in H2O.&#160; Filter sterilize.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Kanamycin</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP906-5</td>
			<td>Soluble in H2O.&#160; Filter sterilize.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tobramycin</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>T4014-100MG</td>
			<td>Soluble in H2O.&#160; Filter sterilize.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

methods to inhibit bacterial pyomelanin production and determine the corresponding increase in sensitivity to oxidative stress

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.

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 ...

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

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).

Pyomelanin is an extracellular red-brown pigment produced by several bacterial and fungal species. This pigment is derived from the tyrosine catabolism ...

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Immunology and Infection

8.1K Views.  University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. 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).