Wall teichoic acid protects Staphylococcus aureus from inhibition by Congo red and other dyes

• Published in: Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy 2012-09, Vol.67 (9), p.2143-2151
• Main Authors: Suzuki, Takashi, Campbell, Jennifer, Kim, Younghoon, Swoboda, Jonathan G, Mylonakis, Eleftherios, Walker, Suzanne, Gilmore, Michael S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - antagonists & inhibitors; Anti-Bacterial Agents - metabolism; Anti-Bacterial Agents - toxicity; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial activity; Azo Compounds - antagonists & inhibitors; Azo Compounds - metabolism; Azo Compounds - toxicity; Azo dyes; Biosynthesis; Caenorhabditis elegans; Cell Wall - chemistry; Cell Wall - drug effects; Cell walls; Congo Red - metabolism; Congo Red - toxicity; Drug development; Drug resistance; Dyes; Gene expression; Humans; Infection; Lipoteichoic acid; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Minimum inhibitory concentration; Mutation; New combinations; Original Research; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - chemistry; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus infections; Teichoic acids; Teichoic Acids - metabolism; Tunicamycin
• ISSN: 0305-7453; 1460-2091
• DOI: 10.1093/jac/dks184

Polyanionic polymers, including lipoteichoic acid and wall teichoic acid, are important determinants of the charged character of the staphylococcal cell wall. This study was designed to investigate the extent to which teichoic acid contributes to protection from anionic azo dyes and to identify barriers to drug penetration for development of new antibiotics for multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection. We studied antimicrobial activity of azo dyes against S. aureus strains with or without inhibition of teichoic acid in vitro and in vivo. We observed that inhibition of wall teichoic acid expression resulted in an ∼1000-fold increase in susceptibility to azo dyes such as Congo red, reducing its MIC from >1024 to