RESUMO
Staphylococcal pneumonia provoked by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a life-threatening infection in which α-toxin is an essential virulence factor. In this study, we investigate the influence of naringenin on α-toxin production and further assess its therapeutic performance in the treatment of staphylococcal pneumonia. Remarkably, the expression of α-toxin was significantly inhibited when the organism was treated with 16 µg/ml of naringenin. When studied in a mouse model of S. aureus pneumonia, naringenin could attenuate the symptoms of lung injury and inflammation in infected mice. These results suggest that naringenin is a promising agent for treatment of S. aureus infection.
Assuntos
Toxinas Bacterianas/biossíntese , Flavanonas/uso terapêutico , Staphylococcus aureus Resistente à Meticilina/patogenicidade , Fitoterapia , Extratos Vegetais/uso terapêutico , Pneumonia Estafilocócica/tratamento farmacológico , Fatores de Virulência/biossíntese , Animais , Linhagem Celular , Citrus paradisi/química , Feminino , Flavanonas/farmacologia , Humanos , Inflamação/tratamento farmacológico , Inflamação/microbiologia , Solanum lycopersicum/química , Staphylococcus aureus Resistente à Meticilina/metabolismo , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Extratos Vegetais/farmacologia , Pneumonia Estafilocócica/microbiologiaRESUMO
In the present study, the antimicrobial activity of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) against Staphylococcus aureus, and its influence on the production of S. aureus alpha-haemolysin (Hla) were investigated, along with the in vivo activity of GA against S. aureus-induced pneumonia. GA could not inhibit the growth of S. aureus, but the secretion of Hla by S. aureus was significantly inhibited by low concentrations of GA in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, in vivo data show that GA provides protection against staphylococcal pneumonia in a murine model system.