Publications by Neeraj Dhar | EPFL Graph Search

Investigating the composition and recruitment of the mycobacterial ImuA'-ImuB-DnaE2 mutasome

John McKinney, Neeraj Dhar, Zela Alexandria-Mae Martin

A DNA damage-inducible mutagenic gene cassette has been implicated in the emergence of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis during anti-tuberculosis (TB) chemotherapy. However, the molecular composition and operation of the encoded 'mycobacterial ...

Elife Sciences Publ Ltd2023

Amidation of glutamate residues in mycobacterial peptidoglycan is essential for cell wall cross-linking

Neeraj Dhar

IntroductionMycobacteria assemble a complex cell wall with cross-linked peptidoglycan (PG) which plays an essential role in maintenance of cell wall integrity and tolerance to osmotic pressure. We previously demonstrated that various hydrolytic enzymes are ...

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA2023

Mechanopathology of biofilm-like Mycobacterium tuberculosis cords

John McKinney, Graham Knott, Neeraj Dhar, Nicolas Jean Philippe Guex, Jessica Sordet, Maxime Jan, Richa Mishra, Mélanie Thérèse Marie Hannebelle, Vivek Vijay Thacker, Kunal Sharma

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) cultured axenically without detergent forms biofilm-like cords, a clinical identifier of virulence. In lung-on-chip (LoC) and mouse models, cords in alveolar cells contribute to suppression of innate immune signaling via nu ...

Cell Press2023

Uptake-independent killing of macrophages by extracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis aggregates

John McKinney, Neeraj Dhar, Chiara Toniolo

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection is initiated by inhalation of bacteria into lung alveoli, where they are phagocytosed by resident macrophages. Intracellular Mtb replication induces the death of the infected macrophages and the release of bacteri ...

WILEY2023

Mycobacterium tuberculosis EspK Has Active but Distinct Roles in the Secretion of EsxA and EspB

Neeraj Dhar

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis type-7 protein secretion system ESX-1 is a major driver of its virulence. While the functions of most ESX-1 components are characterized, many others remain poorly defined. In this study, we examined the role of EspK, an ESX- ...

American Society for Microbiology2022

Early invasion of the bladder wall by solitary bacteria protects UPEC from antibiotics and neutrophil swarms in an organoid model

John McKinney, Graham Knott, Neeraj Dhar, Maria Clapés Cabrer, François Signorino-Gelo, Vivek Vijay Thacker, Kunal Sharma

2021

Dynamic persistence of UPEC intracellular bacterial communities in a human bladder-chip model of urinary tract infection

John McKinney, Graham Knott, Neeraj Dhar, François Signorino-Gelo, Vivek Vijay Thacker, Kunal Sharma, Thomas Marie Simonet

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) proliferate within superficial bladder umbrella cells to form intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) during early stages of urinary tract infections. However, the dynamic responses of IBCs to host stresses and anti ...

2021

Revealing Antibiotic Tolerance of the Mycobacterium smegmatis Xanthine/Uracil Permease Mutant Using Microfluidics and Single-Cell Analysis

John McKinney, Neeraj Dhar, Meltem Elitas

To reveal rare phenotypes in bacterial populations, conventional microbiology tools should be advanced to generate rapid, quantitative, accurate, and high-throughput data. The main drawbacks of widely used traditional methods for antibiotic studies include ...

MDPI2021

Elicitation of efficient, protective immune responses by using DNA vaccines against tuberculosis (vol 23, pg 5655, 2005)

Neeraj Dhar

ELSEVIER SCI LTD2020

Bacteria: Driving polar growth

Neeraj Dhar

Profiling the phenotype of 200,000 mutants revealed a new cofactor that may help a group of rod-shaped bacteria elongate and grow. ...

2020