Ewha Womans University · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Professor Wooseong Kim's research lab focuses on understanding the impact of spaceflight environments—particularly microgravity—on microbial behavior, with an emphasis on biofilm formation, antibiotic tolerance, and microbial physiology. The lab investigates novel antimicrobial strategies targeting drug-tolerant persister cells of pathogenic bacteria like methicillin-resistant *Staphylococcus aureus* (MRSA), using high-throughput screening and molecular dynamics simulations to identify compounds that disrupt bacterial membranes selectively. A key direction involves repurposing clinically approved drugs, such as bithionol and IMD0354, to combat multidrug-resistant and persistent infections. The lab also explores the intersection of host-pathogen interactions and microbial adaptation in extreme environments, including space stations.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Understanding the effects of spaceflight on microbial communities is crucial for the success of long-term, manned space missions. Surface-associated bacterial communities, known as biofilms, were abundant on the Mir space station and continue to be a challenge on the International Space Station. The health and safety hazards linked to the development of biofilms are of particular concern due to the suppression of immune function observed during spaceflight. While planktonic cultures of microbes
Treatment of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> infections is complicated by the development of antibiotic tolerance, a consequence of the ability of <i>S. aureus</i> to enter into a nongrowing, dormant state in which the organisms are referred to as persisters. We report that the clinically approved anthelmintic agent bithionol kills methicillin-resistant <i>S. aureus</i> (MRSA) persister cells, which correlates with its ability to disrupt the integrity of Gram-positive bacterial membranes. Criticall
These results indicate that differences in bacterial final cell densities observed between spaceflight and normal gravity are due to an interplay between microgravity conditions and the availability of substrates essential for growth. Further, our results suggest that microbes grown under nutrient-limiting conditions are likely to reach higher cell densities under microgravity conditions than they would on Earth. Considering that the majority of bacteria inhabiting spacecrafts and space stations
Persisters are a subpopulation of normal bacterial cells that show tolerance to conventional antibiotics. Persister cells are responsible for recalcitrant chronic infections and new antibiotics effective against persisters would be a major development in the treatment of these infections. Using the reporter dye SYTOX Green that only stains cells with permeabilized membranes, we developed a fluorescence-based screening assay in a 384-well format for identifying compounds that can kill methicillin
Resistance or tolerance to traditional antibiotics is a challenging issue in antimicrobial chemotherapy. Moreover, traditional bactericidal antibiotics kill only actively growing bacterial cells, whereas nongrowing metabolically inactive cells are tolerant to and therefore "persist" in the presence of legacy antibiotics. Here, we report that the diarylurea derivative PQ401, previously characterized as an inhibitor of the insulin-like growth factor I receptor, kills both antibiotic-resistant and
Multidrug-resistant pathogens pose a serious threat to human health. For decades, the antibiotic vancomycin has been a potent option when treating Gram-positive multidrug-resistant infections. Nonetheless, in recent decades, we have begun to see an increase in vancomycin-resistant bacteria. Here, we show that the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) inhibitor <i>N</i>-[3,5-Bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzamide (IMD0354) was identified as a positive hit through a <i>Caenorhabditis ele
NH125 kills MRSA persisters by interacting with and disrupting membranes in a detergent-like manner.
Chronic Staphylococcus aureus infections are complicated by frequent relapses not only from the development of drug resistance to conventional antibiotics, but also through the formation of persister bacterial cells. Bacterial persisters are in a transient, metabolically inactive state, making conventional antibiotics that target essential cellular growth processes ineffective, resulting in high clinical failure rates of antibiotic chemotherapy. The development of new antibiotics against persist
The emergence of antibiotic-resistant and -tolerant bacteria is a major threat to human health. Although efforts for drug discovery are ongoing, conventional bacteria-centered screening strategies have thus far failed to yield new classes of effective antibiotics. Therefore, new paradigms for discovering novel antibiotics are of critical importance. Caenorhabditis elegans, a model organism used for in vivo, offers a promising solution for identification of anti-infective compounds. Areas covered
Conventional antibiotics are not effective in treating infections caused by drug-resistant or persistent nongrowing bacteria, creating a dire need for the development of new antibiotics. We report that the small molecule nTZDpa, previously characterized as a nonthiazolidinedione peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma partial agonist, kills both growing and persistent Staphylococcus aureus cells by lipid bilayer disruption. S. aureus exhibited no detectable development of resistance to
To improve the anticolitic efficacy of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), a colon-specific mutual prodrug of 5-ASA was designed. 5-ASA was coupled to procainamide (PA), a local anesthetic, via an azo bond to prepare 5-(4-{[2-(diethylamino)ethyl]carbamoyl}phenylazo)salicylic acid (5-ASA-azo-PA). 5-ASA-azo-PA was cleaved to 5-ASA and PA up to about 76% at 10 h in the cecal contents while remaining stable in the small intestinal contents. Oral gavage of 5-ASA-azo-PA and sulfasalazine, a colon-specific
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