Antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties of novel synthetic lignan-like compounds.

Antibiotic resistance and biofilm tolerance are among the principal factors involved in the persistence of chronic infections. The need for new antimicrobials is an ever-increasing challenge in clinical environments and in the control of global health. Arylfurans form a set of structures that have been identified in many natural products, e.g. lignans. Lignans are a sub-group of non-flavonoid polyphenols that play an active role in plants' defense against bacteria and fungi infections. The aim of this study was to identify novel synthetic arylfurans and lignan-like arylbenzylfurans exhibiting antimicrobial properties. The molecules synthetized were tested against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis. We found that among tested compounds, arylbenzylfuran 11 was active against S. aureus and S. epidermidis with an MIC of 4 µg ml-1. Compound 11 was also active on methicillin-resistant S. aureus and S. epidermidis. By confocal laser scanning microscopy, we showed that 32 µg ml-1 of compound 11 was able to induce a significant reduction in S. aureus and S. epidermidis biofilms viability. Finally, we demonstrated that compound 11 was not cytotoxic on HaCat cells up to 128 µg ml-1. This work shows the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm potential of a synthetic lignan-like furan.

Synergistic Effect of Abietic Acid with Oxacillin against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius.

Resin acids are valued in traditional medicine for their antiseptic properties. Among these, abietic acid has been reported to be active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. In veterinary healthcare, the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) strain is an important reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes including mecA. The incidence of MRSP has been increasing, and treatment options in veterinary medicine are partial. Here, we investigated the antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties of abietic acid against three MRSP and two methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MSSP) strains, isolated from diseased pet animals and human wound samples. Abietic acid showed a significant minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value ranging from 32 to 64 µg/mL (MRSPs) and 8 µg/mL (MSSP). By checkerboard method we demonstrated that abietic acid increased oxacillin susceptibility of MRSP strains, thus showing a synergistic interaction with oxacillin. Abietic acid was also able to contrast the vitality of treated MSSP and MRSP1 biofilms at 20 µg/mL and 40 µg/mL, respectively. Finally, the compound moderately reduced mecA, mecR1 and mec1 gene expression. In conclusion, the results here reported demonstrate the antimicrobial activity of abietic acid against MRSP and support the use of this compound as a potential therapeutic agent to be used in combinatorial antibiotic therapy.

Bifidobacteria Enhance Antigen Sampling and Processing by Dendritic Cells in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Bifidobacteria have been reported to reduce inflammation and contribute to intestinal homeostasis. However, the interaction between these bacteria and the gut immune system remains largely unknown. Because of the central role played by dendritic cells (DCs) in immune responses, we examined in vitro the effects of a Bifidobacteria mixture (probiotic) on DC functionality from children with inflammatory bowel disease. DCs obtained from peripheral blood monocytes of patients with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis, and noninflammatory bowel disease controls (HC) were incubated with fluorochrome-conjugated particles of Escherichia coli or DQ-Ovalbumin (DQ-OVA) after a pretreatment with the probiotic, to evaluate DC phenotype, antigen sampling and processing. Moreover, cell supernatants were collected to measure tumor necrosis factor alpha, interferon gamma, interleukin 17, and interleukin 10 production by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. DCs from CD children showed a higher bacteria particles uptake and DQ-OVA processing after incubation with the probiotic; in contrast, DC from both ulcerative colitis and HC showed no significant changes. Moreover, a marked tumor necrosis factor alpha release was observed in DC from CD after exposure to E. coli particles, whereas the probiotic did not affect the production of this proinflammatory cytokine. In conclusion, the Bifidobacteria significantly improved the antigen uptake and processing by DCs from patients with CD, which are known to present an impaired autophagic functionality, whereas, in DCs from ulcerative colitis and HC, no prominent effect of probiotic mixture was observed. This improvement of antigen sampling and processing could partially solve the impairment of intestinal innate immunity and reduce uncontrolled microorganism growth in the intestine of children with inflammatory bowel disease.

In vitro interaction of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia with human monocyte-derived dendritic cells.

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is increasingly identified as an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised, cancer and cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Knowledge on innate immune responses to S. maltophilia and its potential modulation is poor. The present work investigated the ability of 12 clinical S. maltophilia strains (five from CF patients, seven from non-CF patients) and one environmental strain to survive inside human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs). The effects of the bacteria on maturation of and cytokine secretion by DCs were also measured. S. maltophilia strains presented a high degree of heterogeneity in internalization and intracellular replication efficiencies as well as in the ability of S. maltophilia to interfere with normal DCs maturation. By contrast, all S. maltophilia strains were able to activate DCs, as measured by increase in the expression of surface maturation markers and proinflammatory cytokines secretion.

Molecular characterization of pneumococci with efflux-mediated erythromycin resistance and identification of a novel mef gene subclass, mef(I).

The molecular genetics of macrolide resistance were analyzed in 49 clinical pneumococci (including an "atypical" bile-insoluble strain currently assigned to the new species Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae) with efflux-mediated erythromycin resistance (M phenotype). All test strains had the mef gene, identified as mef(A) in 30 isolates and mef(E) in 19 isolates (including the S. pseudopneumoniae strain) on the basis of PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Twenty-eight of the 30 mef(A) isolates shared a pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) type corresponding to the England14-9 clone. Of those isolates, 27 (20 belonging to serotype 14) yielded multilocus sequence type ST9, and one isolate yielded a new sequence type. The remaining two mef(A) isolates had different PFGE types and yielded an ST9 type and a new sequence type. Far greater heterogeneity was displayed by the 19 mef(E) isolates, which fell into 11 PFGE types, 12 serotypes (though not serotype 14), and 12 sequence types (including two new ones and an undetermined type for the S. pseudopneumoniae strain). In all mef(A) pneumococci, the mef element was a regular Tn1207.1 transposon, whereas of the mef(E) isolates, 17 carried the mega element and 2 exhibited a previously unreported organization, with no PCR evidence of the other open reading frames of mega. The mef gene of these two isolates, which did not match with the mef(E) gene of the mega element (93.6% homology) and which exhibited comparable homology (91.4%) to the mef(A) gene of the Tn1207.1 transposon, was identified as a novel mef gene variant and was designated mef(I). While penicillin-nonsusceptible isolates (three resistant isolates and one intermediate isolate) were all mef(E) strains, tetracycline resistance was also detected in three mef(A) isolates, due to the tet(M) gene carried by a Tn916-like transposon. A similar mechanism accounted for resistance in four of the five tetracycline-resistant isolates carrying mef(E), in three of which mega was inserted in the Tn916-like transposon, giving rise to the composite element Tn2009. In the fifth mef(E)-positive tetracycline-resistant isolate (the S. pseudopneumoniae strain), tetracycline resistance was due to the presence of the tet(O) gene, apparently unlinked to mef(E).

Genetic diversity of cell-invasive erythromycin-resistant and -susceptible group A streptococci determined by analysis of the RD2 region of the prtF1 gene.

The RD2 region of the internalization-associated gene prtF1, which encodes the fibronectin-binding repeat domain type 2 of protein F1, plays a crucial role in the entry of group A streptococci (GAS) into epithelial cells. A molecular study of the variability of the RD2 region was carried out with 77 independent Italian GAS, 66 erythromycin resistant (ER) and 11 erythromycin susceptible (ES), which had previously been investigated for the association between erythromycin resistance and ability to enter human respiratory cells. The amplicons obtained from PCR analysis of the RD2 region were consistent with a number of RD2 repeats ranging from one to five, more frequently four (n = 30), three (n = 27), and one (n = 18). A new method to type cell-invasive GAS (RD2 typing) was developed by combining PCR analysis of the RD2 region and restriction analysis of PCR products with endonucleases HaeIII, DdeI, and HinfI. Overall, 10 RD2 types (a to j) were distinguished (all detected among the 66 ER isolates, four detected among the 11 ES isolates). Comparison and correlation of RD2 typing data with the genotype and phenotype of macrolide resistance and with data from PCR M typing and SmaI macrorestriction analysis allowed us to identify 41 different clones (31 among the 66 ER isolates and 10 among the 11 ES isolates). Three major clones accounted for 40% of the isolates (47% of ER strains). Some ES isolates appeared to be related to ER isolates with identical combinations of RD2 type and emm type. While simultaneous use of different typing methods is essential for a thorough investigation of GAS epidemiology, RD2 typing may be especially helpful in typing cell-invasive GAS.