Thymol Reduces agr-Mediated Virulence Factor Phenol-Soluble Modulin Production in Staphylococcus aureus.
Biomed Res Int
; 2022: 8221622, 2022.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35586806
ABSTRACT
Staphylococcus aureus is a major human bacterial pathogen that carries a large number of virulence factors. Many virulence factors of S. aureus are regulated by the accessory gene regulator (agr) quorum-sensing system. Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) are one of the agr-mediated virulence determinants known to play a significant role in S. aureus pathogenesis. In the present study, the efficacy of thymol to inhibit PSM production including δ-toxin in S. aureus was explored. We employed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to quantify the PSMsα1-PSMα4, PSMß1 and PSMß2, and δ-toxin production from culture supernatants. We found that thymol at 0.5 MIC (128 µg/mL) significantly reduced the PSMα and δ-toxin production in S. aureus WKZ-1, WKZ-2, LAC USA300, and ATCC29213. Downregulation in transcription by quantitative real-time (qRT) PCR analysis of response regulator agrA and receptor histidine kinase agrC upon 0.5 MIC thymol treatment affirmed the results of LC-MS quantification of PSMs. In silico molecular docking analysis demonstrated the binding affinity of thymol with receptors AgrA and AgrC. Transmission electron microscopy images revealed no ultrastructural alterations (cell wall and membrane) in thymol-treated WKZ-1 and WKZ-2 S. aureus strains. Here, we demonstrated that thymol reduces various PSM production in S. aureus clinical isolates and reference strains with mass spectrometry.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Staphylococcus aureus
/
Timol
/
Toxinas Bacterianas
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Biomed Res Int
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article