Anti-Biofilm Effects of Synthetic Antimicrobial Peptides Against Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus Planktonic Cells and Biofilm

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2019-12, Vol.24 (24), p.4560
• Main Authors: Park, Seong-Cheol, Lee, Min-Young, Kim, Jin-Young, Kim, Hyeonseok, Jung, Myunghwan, Shin, Min-Kyoung, Lee, Woo-Kon, Cheong, Gang-Won, Lee, Jung Ro, Jang, Mi-Kyeong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aliphatic compounds; Amino acids; Anti-Infective Agents - chemical synthesis; Anti-Infective Agents - chemistry; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides - chemical synthesis; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides - chemistry; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides - pharmacology; Antimicrobial peptides; Arginine; Bacteria; Biofilms; Biofilms - drug effects; Biofilms - growth & development; Bone implants; Catheters; Cell surface; Colonization; Contact lenses; Dental implants; Dental prosthetics; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Bacterial - drug effects; Drug therapy; Heart valves; Medical devices; Medical electronics; Medical equipment; Microorganisms; Nosocomial infections; Peptides; Phospholipids; Plankton - physiology; Planktonic cells; Presenilin 1; Prostheses; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - physiology; Staphylococcus aureus - physiology; Staphylococcus infections; Surgical implants; Translocation
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules24244560

Biofilm-associated infections are difficult to manage or treat as biofilms or biofilm-embedded bacteria are difficult to eradicate. Antimicrobial peptides have gained increasing attention as a possible alternative to conventional drugs to combat drug-resistant microorganisms because they inhibit the growth of planktonic bacteria by disrupting the cytoplasmic membrane. The current study investigated the effects of synthetic peptides (PS1-2, PS1-5, and PS1-6) and conventional antibiotics on the growth, biofilm formation, and biofilm reduction of drug-resistant and . The effects of PS1-2, PS1-5, and PS1-6 were also tested in vivo using a mouse model. All peptides inhibited planktonic cell growth and biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner. They also reduced preformed biofilm masses by removing the carbohydrates, extracellular DNA, and lipids that comprised extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) but did not affect proteins. In vivo, PS1-2 showed the greatest efficacy against preformed biofilms with no cytotoxicity. Our findings indicate that the PS1-2 peptide has potential as a next-generation therapeutic drug to overcome multidrug resistance and to regulate inflammatory response in biofilm-associated infections.