ABSTRACT
Plants are considered to be a leading source for possible human therapeutic agents. This holistic study has investigated the anti-quorum sensing (anti-QS), anti-infection, antioxidant and anti-photoaging properties of neglected plant Diplocyclos palmatus. The results showed that D. palmatus methanolic leaf extract (DPME) effectively inhibited the quorum sensing (QS) regulated virulence factor production as well as biofilm formation in Serratia marcescens. The transcriptomic analysis revealed that DPME significantly downed the expression of QS-regulated genes such as fimA, fimC, flhC, bsmB, pigP and shlA in S. marcescens, which supports the outcome of in vitro bioassays. Further, the docking study revealed that the presence of active compounds, namely tocopherols and phytol, DPME exhibited its anti-QS activity against S. marcescens. In addition, DPME treatment extended the lifespan of S. marcescens infected C. elegans by the action of dropping the internal accumulation. Further, qPCR analysis clearly revealed that DPME treatment significantly up-regulated the expression of the lifespan-related gene (daf-16) and immune-related genes (clec-60, clec-87, lys-7 and bec-1) in S. marcescens infected C.elegans. On the other hand, DPME extensively reduced the UV-A induced ROS stress, thereby, extended the lifespan in UV-A photoaged C. elegans. Further, the qPCR analysis also confirmed the up-regulation of daf-16, clec-60, clec-87 and col-19 genes which advocated the improvement of the lifespan, healthspan and collagen production in UV-A photoaged C. elegans. Further bioassays evidenced that that the lifespan extension of photoaged C. elegans was accomplished by the actions of antioxidants such as tocopherols and phytol in DPME.
Subject(s)
Aging/drug effects , Caenorhabditis elegans/radiation effects , Cucurbitaceae/chemistry , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Quorum Sensing/drug effects , Serratia marcescens/physiology , Ultraviolet Rays , Aging/radiation effects , Animals , Antioxidants/chemistry , Bacterial Proteins/genetics , Bacterial Proteins/metabolism , Biofilms/drug effects , Caenorhabditis elegans/drug effects , Caenorhabditis elegans/physiology , Collagen/metabolism , Cucurbitaceae/metabolism , Longevity/drug effects , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Plant Leaves/chemistry , Plant Leaves/metabolism , Serratia Infections/pathology , Serratia Infections/veterinary , Up-Regulation/drug effectsABSTRACT
Renal scars have been thought to occur only in later stages of chronic pyelonephritis. In our experimental pyelonephritis model, bacteria with mannose-sensitive (MS) pili on its surface promoted renal scarring when inoculated into renal parenchyma. Pretreatment with recombinant human granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (rhGCSF) inhibited the renal scarring which followed inoculation with MS-piliated bacteria, whereas posttreatment at an early stage of infection had no effect on renal scarring. These findings suggest that rhGCSF may be useful for the prevention of infection without increasing the tissue damage to the renal parenchyma which leads to the renal scarring. Even when rhGCSF is used for treatment of kidney infection, it does not promote increased renal scarring through the increased invasion of leukocytes at the inflammatory site.