scholarly journals The utilization of Blaptica dubia cockroaches as an in vivo model to test antibiotic efficacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliot Collins ◽  
Caleb Martin ◽  
Tyler Blomquist ◽  
Katherine Phillips ◽  
Stuart Cantlay ◽  
...  

AbstractInsects are now well recognized as biologically relevant alternative hosts for dozens of mammalian pathogens and they are routinely used in microbial pathogenesis studies. Unfortunately, these models have yet to be incorporated into the drug development pipeline. The purpose of this work was to begin to evaluate the utility of orange spotted (Blaptica dubia) cockroaches in early antibiotic characterization. To determine whether these model hosts could exhibit mortality when infected with bacteria that are pathogenic to humans, we subjected B. dubia roaches to a range of infectious doses of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Acinetobacter baumannii to identify the medial lethal dose. These results showed that lethal disease did not develop following infection of high doses of S. aureus, and A. baumannii. However, cockroaches infected with E. coli and K. pneumoniae succumbed to infection (LD50s of 5.82 × 106 and 2.58 × 106 respectively) suggesting that this model may have limitations based on pathogen specificity. However, because these cockroaches were susceptible to infection from E. coli and K. pneumoniae, we used these bacterial strains for subsequent antibiotic characterization studies. These studies suggested that β-lactam antibiotic persistence and dose was associated with reduction of hemolymph bacterial burden. Moreover, our data indicated that the reduction of bacterial CFU was directly due to the drug activity. Altogether, this work suggests that the orange-spotted cockroach infection model provides an alternative in vivo setting from which antibiotic efficacy can be evaluated.

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 5010
Author(s):  
Giulio Petronio Petronio ◽  
Marco Alfio Cutuli ◽  
Irene Magnifico ◽  
Noemi Venditti ◽  
Laura Pietrangelo ◽  
...  

Berberine is an alkaloid of the protoberberine type used in traditional oriental medicine. Its biological activities include documented antibacterial properties against a wide variety of microorganisms; nonetheless, its use against Escherichia coli strains isolated from urinary infections has not yet been widely investigated in vivo. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance requires new therapeutic approaches to ensure the continued effectiveness of antibiotics for the treatment and prevention of urinary infections. Moreover, uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) has developed several virulence factors and resistance to routine antibiotic therapy. To this end, several in vitro and in vivo tests were conducted to assess the activity of berberine on uropathogenic E. coli strains. Galleria mellonella as an infection model was employed to confirm the in vivo translatability of in vitro data on berberine activity and its influence on adhesion and invasion proprieties of E. coli on human bladder cells. In vitro pre-treatment with berberine was able to decrease the adhesive and invasive UPEC ability. In vivo treatment increased the larvae survival infected with UPEC strains and reduced the number of circulating pathogens in larvae hemolymph. These preliminary findings demonstrated the efficacy and reliability of G. mellonella as in vivo model for pre-clinical studies of natural substances.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Gaurav ◽  
Varsha Gupta ◽  
Sandeep K. Shrivastava ◽  
Ranjana Pathania

AbstractThe increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance has become a global health problem. Acinetobacter baumannii is an important nosocomial pathogen due to its capacity to persist in the hospital environment. It has a high mortality rate and few treatment options. Antibiotic combinations can help to fight multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacterial infections, but they are rarely used in the clinics and mostly unexplored. The interaction between bacteriostatic and bactericidal antibiotics are mostly reported as antagonism based on the results obtained in the susceptible model laboratory strain Escherichia coli. However, in the present study, we report a synergistic interaction between nalidixic acid and tetracycline against clinical multi-drug resistant A. baumannii and E. coli. Here we provide mechanistic insight into this dichotomy. The synergistic combination was studied by checkerboard assay and time-kill curve analysis. We also elucidate the mechanism behind this synergy using several techniques such as fluorescence spectroscopy, flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy, morphometric analysis, and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Nalidixic acid and tetracycline combination displayed synergy against most of the MDR clinical isolates of A. baumannii and E. coli but not against susceptible isolates. Finally, we demonstrate that this combination is also effective in vivo in an A. baumannii/Caenorhabditis elegans infection model (p < 0.001)


2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 2343-2351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Komp Lindgren ◽  
Linda L. Marcusson ◽  
Dorthe Sandvang ◽  
Niels Frimodt-Møller ◽  
Diarmaid Hughes

ABSTRACT Resistance to fluoroquinolones in urinary tract infection (UTIs) caused by Escherichia coli is associated with multiple mutations, typically those that alter DNA gyrase and DNA topoisomerase IV and those that regulate AcrAB-TolC-mediated efflux. We asked whether a fitness cost is associated with the accumulation of these multiple mutations. Mutants of the susceptible E. coli UTI isolate Nu14 were selected through three to five successive steps with norfloxacin. Each selection was performed with the MIC of the selected strain. After each selection the MIC was measured; and the regions of gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE, previously associated with resistance mutations, and all of marOR and acrR were sequenced. The first selection step yielded mutations in gyrA, gyrB, and marOR. Subsequent selection steps yielded mutations in gyrA, parE, and marOR but not in gyrB, parC, or acrR. Resistance-associated mutations were identified in almost all isolates after selection steps 1 and 2 but in less than 50% of isolates after subsequent selection steps. Selected strains were competed in vitro, in urine, and in a mouse UTI infection model against the starting strain, Nu14. First-step mutations were not associated with significant fitness costs. However, the accumulation of three or more resistance-associated mutations was usually associated with a large reduction in biological fitness, both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, in some lineages a partial restoration of fitness was associated with the accumulation of additional mutations in late selection steps. We suggest that the relative biological costs of multiple mutations may influence the evolution of E. coli strains that develop resistance to fluoroquinolones.


2021 ◽  
Vol 103-B (7 Supple B) ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
William J. Hadden ◽  
Mazen Ibrahim ◽  
Mariam Taha ◽  
Kerstin Ure ◽  
Yun Liu ◽  
...  

Aims The aims of this study were to develop an in vivo model of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in cemented hip hemiarthroplasty, and to monitor infection and biofilm formation in real-time. Methods Sprague-Dawley rats underwent cemented hip hemiarthroplasty via the posterior approach with pre- and postoperative gait assessments. Infection with Staphylococcus aureus Xen36 was monitored with in vivo photoluminescent imaging in real-time. Pre- and postoperative gait analyses were performed and compared. Postmortem micro (m) CT was used to assess implant integration; field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to assess biofilm formation on prosthetic surfaces. Results All animals tolerated surgery well, with preservation of gait mechanics and weightbearing in control individuals. Postoperative in vivo imaging demonstrated predictable evolution of infection with logarithmic signal decay coinciding with abscess formation. Postmortem mCT qualitative volumetric analysis showed high contact area and both cement-bone and cement-implant interdigitation. FE-SEM revealed biofilm formation on the prosthetic head. Conclusion This study demonstrates the utility of a new, high-fidelity model of in vivo PJI using cemented hip hemiarthroplasty in rats. Inoculation with bioluminescent bacteria allows for non-invasive, real-time monitoring of infection. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(7 Supple B):9–16.


1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 813-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian M. Smith ◽  
Brian Slocombe ◽  
Karen H. Abbott ◽  
Linda W. Mizen

ABSTRACT High doses of amoxicillin, equivalent to those produced by 500- and 750-mg oral doses in humans (area under the plasma concentration-time curve), were effective against a penicillin-resistant strain ofStreptococcus pneumoniae in an experimental respiratory tract infection in immunocompromised rats; this superior activity confirms the results of previous studies. An unexpected enhancement of amoxicillin’s antibacterial activity in vivo against penicillin-resistant and -susceptible S. pneumoniaestrains was observed when subtherapeutic doses of amoxicillin were coadministered with the β-lactamase inhibitor potassium clavulanate. The reason for this enhancement was unclear since these organisms do not produce β-lactamase. The differential binding of clavulanic acid and amoxicillin to penicillin-binding proteins may have contributed to the observed effects.


2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 6055-6063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Mastropaolo ◽  
Nicholas P. Evans ◽  
Meghan K. Byrnes ◽  
Ann M. Stevens ◽  
John L. Robertson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Human diabetics frequently suffer delayed wound healing, increased susceptibility to localized and systemic infections, and limb amputations as a consequence of the disease. Lower-limb infections in diabetic patients are most often polymicrobial, involving mixtures of aerobic, facultative anaerobic, and anaerobic bacteria. The purpose of this study is to determine if these organisms contribute to synergy in polymicrobial infections by using diabetic mice as an in vivo model. The model was the obese diabetic mouse strain BKS.Cg-m +/+ Lepr db /J, a model of human type 2 diabetes. Young (5- to 6-week-old) prediabetic mice and aged (23- to 24-week-old) diabetic mice were compared. The mice were injected subcutaneously with mixed cultures containing Escherichia coli, Bacteroides fragilis, and Clostridium perfringens. Progression of the infection (usually abscess formation) was monitored by examining mice for bacterial populations and numbers of white blood cells at 1, 8, and 22 days postinfection. Synergy in the mixed infections was defined as a statistically significant increase in the number of bacteria at the site of injection when coinfected with a second bacterium, compared to when the bacterium was inoculated alone. E. coli provided strong synergy to B. fragilis but not to C. perfringens. C. perfringens and B. fragilis provided moderate synergy to each other but only in young mice. B. fragilis was anergistic (antagonistic) to E. coli in coinfections in young mice at 22 days postinfection. When age-matched nondiabetic mice (C57BLKS/J) were used as controls, the diabetic mice exhibited 5 to 35 times the number of CFU as did the nondiabetic mice, indicating that diabetes was a significant factor in the severity of the polymicrobial infections.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S429-S429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Daigle ◽  
Salvador Vernacchio ◽  
Luigi Xerri ◽  
Daniel Pevear

Abstract Background VNRX-5133 is a cyclic boronate β-lactamase inhibitor (BLI) in clinical development with cefepime for treatment of infections caused by ESBL- and carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa. It is a new generation broad-spectrum BLI with direct inhibitory activity against serine-active site and emerging metallo-β-lactamases (e.g., VIM/NDM). In previous in vivo and in vitro studies, the PK-PD driver of efficacy of VNRX-5133 was defined as AUC:MIC. Described herein are in vitro studies to assess the magnitude of VNRX-5133 exposure (AUC:MIC) required to restore efficacy of cefepime against a broad collection of KPC- and VIM/NDM-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ENT) and P. aeruginosa (PSA) clinical isolates. Methods Dose-fractionation studies, consisting of four VNRX-5133 exposures fractionated into regimens administered every 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours, were performed in an in vitro infection model with simulated 2 g q8h dosing of cefepime against NDM-1 producing E. coli. A Hill-type model described the relationship between change in log10 CFU at 24 hours and VNRX-5133 exposure (AUC:MIC), where cefepime MIC was determined with 4 µg/mL VNRX-5133. To evaluate variability of efficacy enabled by VNRX-5133 between isolates as well as between Serine-BL and Metallo-BL producers, dose-ranging studies were completed for eight isolates (seven ENT and one PSA) producing KPC or VIM/NDM metallo-β-lactamases. Results The PK-PD exposure parameter AUC:MIC accurately described the efficacy of VNRX-5133 in rescuing cefepime activity against KPC and VIM/NDM carbapenemase-producing isolates of ENT and PSA. The AUC:MIC ratios associated with net bacterial stasis, 1-, and 2-log10 reductions in bacterial burden from baseline were 6.1, 18.4 and 45, respectively, for a collection of five VIM/NDM- and three KPC-producing isolates with cefepime MICs ranging from 4–8 µg/mL with no significant differences observed between Ser-BL and MBL producers. Conclusion These data confirm the equivalent in vitro activity of cefepime/VNRX-5133 against organisms producing serine- and metallo-β-lactamases and provides an initial PK-PD target for VNRX-5133 efficacy when used in combination with cefepime for the treatment of ESBL- and carbapenemase-producing ENT and PSA infections. Disclosures D. Daigle, VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Employee and Shareholder, Salary. S. Vernacchio, VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Employee and Shareholder, Salary. L. Xerri, VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Employee and Shareholder, Salary. D. Pevear, VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Employee, Salary.


2008 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christa Ewers ◽  
Esther-Maria Ant�o ◽  
Ines Diehl ◽  
Hans-C. Philipp ◽  
Lothar H. Wieler

ABSTRACT Although research has increasingly focused on the pathogenesis of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) infections and the “APEC pathotype” itself, little is known about the reservoirs of these bacteria. We therefore compared outbreak strains isolated from diseased chickens (n = 121) with nonoutbreak strains, including fecal E. coli strains from clinically healthy chickens (n = 211) and strains from their environment (n = 35) by determining their virulence gene profiles, phylogenetic backgrounds, responses to chicken serum, and in vivo pathogenicities in a chicken infection model. In general, by examining 46 different virulence-associated genes we were able to distinguish the three groups of avian strains, but some specific fecal and environmental isolates had a virulence gene profile that was indistinguishable from that determined for outbreak strains. In addition, a substantial number of phylogenetic EcoR group B2 strains, which are known to include potent human and animal extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains, were identified among the APEC strains (44.5%) as well as among the fecal E. coli strains from clinically healthy chickens (23.2%). Comparably high percentages (79.2 to 89.3%) of serum-resistant strains were identified for all three groups of strains tested, bringing into question the usefulness of this phenotype as a principal marker for extraintestinal virulence. Intratracheal infection of 5-week-old chickens corroborated the pathogenicity of a number of nonoutbreak strains. Multilocus sequence typing data revealed that most strains that were virulent in chicken infection experiments belonged to sequence types that are almost exclusively associated with extraintestinal diseases not only in birds but also in humans, like septicemia, urinary tract infection, and newborn meningitis, supporting the hypothesis that not the ecohabitat but the phylogeny of E. coli strains determines virulence. These data provide strong evidence for an avian intestinal reservoir hypothesis which could be used to develop intestinal intervention strategies. These strains pose a zoonotic risk because either they could be transferred directly from birds to humans or they could serve as a genetic pool for ExPEC strains.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Feng Zhou ◽  
Meng-Ting Tao ◽  
Yu-Zhang He ◽  
Jian Sun ◽  
Ya-Hong Liu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Antimicrobial resistance among uropathogens has increased the rates of infection-related morbidity and mortality. Antofloxacin is a novel fluoroquinolone with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against urinary Gram-negative bacilli, such as Escherichia coli. This study monitored the in vivo efficacy of antofloxacin using bioluminescent imaging and determined pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic (PD) targets against E. coli isolates in a neutropenic murine thigh infection model. The PK properties were determined after subcutaneous administration of antofloxacin at 2.5, 10, 40, and 160 mg/kg of body weight. Following thigh infection, the mice were treated with 2-fold-increasing doses of antofloxacin from 2.5 to 80 mg/kg administered every 12 h. Efficacy was assessed by quantitative determination of the bacterial burdens in thigh homogenates and was compared with the bioluminescent density. Antofloxacin demonstrated both static and killing endpoints in relation to the initial burden against all study strains. The PK/PD index area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)/MIC correlated well with efficacy (R 2 = 0.92), and the dose-response relationship was relatively steep, as observed with escalating doses of antofloxacin. The mean free drug AUC/MIC targets necessary to produce net bacterial stasis and 1-log10 and 2-log10 kill for each isolate were 38.7, 66.1, and 147.0 h, respectively. In vivo bioluminescent imaging showed a rapid decrease in the bioluminescent density at free drug AUC/MIC exposures that exceeded the stasis targets. The integration of these PD targets combined with the results of PK studies with humans will be useful in setting optimal dosing regimens for the treatment of urinary tract infections due to E. coli.


2015 ◽  
Vol 308 (6) ◽  
pp. G550-G561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teklu K. Gerbaba ◽  
Pratyush Gupta ◽  
Kevin Rioux ◽  
Dave Hansen ◽  
Andre G. Buret

Giardia duodenalis is the most common cause of parasitic diarrhea worldwide and a well-established risk factor for postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome. We hypothesized that Giardia-induced disruptions in host-microbiota interactions may play a role in the pathogenesis of giardiasis and in postgiardiasis disease. Functional changes induced by Giardia in commensal bacteria and the resulting effects on Caenorhabditis elegans were determined. Although Giardia or bacteria alone did not affect worm viability, combining commensal Escherichia coli bacteria with Giardia became lethal to C. elegans. Giardia also induced killing of C. elegans with attenuated Citrobacter rodentium espF and map mutant strains, human microbiota from a healthy donor, and microbiota from inflamed colonic sites of ulcerative colitis patient. In contrast, combinations of Giardia with microbiota from noninflamed sites of the same patient allowed for worm survival. The synergistic lethal effects of Giardia and E. coli required the presence of live bacteria and were associated with the facilitation of bacterial colonization in the C. elegans intestine. Exposure to C. elegans and/or Giardia altered the expression of 172 genes in E. coli. The genes affected by Giardia included hydrogen sulfide biosynthesis (HSB) genes, and deletion of a positive regulator of HSB genes, cysB, was sufficient to kill C. elegans even in the absence of Giardia. Our findings indicate that Giardia induces functional changes in commensal bacteria, possibly making them opportunistic pathogens, and alters host-microbe homeostatic interactions. This report describes the use of a novel in vivo model to assess the toxicity of human microbiota.


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