Unsaturated Fatty Acids Control Biofilm Formation of Staphylococcus aureus and Other Gram-Positive Bacteria

Infections involving biofilms are difficult to treat due to increased resistances against antibiotics and the immune system. Hence, there is an urgent demand for novel drugs against biofilm infections. During our search for novel biofilm inhibitors from fungi, we isolated linoleic acid from the asco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antibiotics (Basel) 2020-11, Vol.9 (11), p.788
Main Authors: Yuyama, Kamila Tomoko, Rohde, Manfred, Molinari, Gabriella, Stadler, Marc, Abraham, Wolf-Rainer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibiotics
Antiinfectives and antibacterials
Bacteria
biofilm inhibition
Biofilms
Chromatography
Desaturation
Extracellular polymers
fatty acid
Fatty acids
Gram-negative bacteria
Gram-positive bacteria
Health aspects
Hypoxylon fragiforme
Immune system
Immunosuppressive agents
Infections
Investigations
Linoleic acid
Metabolites
Minimum inhibitory concentration
Mode of action
Pathogens
Photomicrographs
Polyunsaturated fatty acids
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus infections
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Summary:Infections involving biofilms are difficult to treat due to increased resistances against antibiotics and the immune system. Hence, there is an urgent demand for novel drugs against biofilm infections. During our search for novel biofilm inhibitors from fungi, we isolated linoleic acid from the ascomycete Hypoxylon fragiforme which showed biofilm inhibition of several bacteria at sub-MIC concentrations. Many fatty acids possess antimicrobial activities, but their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) are high and reports on biofilm interferences are scarce. We demonstrated that not only linoleic acid but several unsaturated long-chain fatty acids inhibited biofilms at sub-MIC concentrations. The antibiofilm activity exerted by long-chain fatty acids was mainly against Gram-positive bacteria, especially against Staphylococcus aureus. Micrographs of treated S. aureus biofilms revealed a reduction in the extracellular polymeric substances, pointing to a possible mode of action of fatty acids on S. aureus biofilms. The fatty acids had a strong species specificity. Poly-unsaturated fatty acids had higher activities than saturated ones, but no obvious rule could be found for the optimal length and desaturation for maximal activity. As free fatty acids are non-toxic and ubiquitous in food, they may offer a novel tool, especially in combination with antibiotics, for the control of biofilm infections.
ISSN:2079-6382
2079-6382
DOI:10.3390/antibiotics9110788