scholarly journals Validation of a Novel Murine Wound Model of Acinetobacter baumannii Infection

2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 1332-1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell G. Thompson ◽  
Chad C. Black ◽  
Rebecca L. Pavlicek ◽  
Cary L. Honnold ◽  
Matthew C. Wise ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPatients recovering from traumatic injuries or surgery often require weeks to months of hospitalization, increasing the risk for wound and surgical site infections caused by ESKAPE pathogens, which includeA. baumannii(the ESKAPE pathogens areEnterococcus faecium,Staphylococcus aureus,Klebsiella pneumoniae,Acinetobacter baumannii,Pseudomonas aeruginosa, andEnterobacterspecies). As new therapies are being developed to counterA. baumanniiinfections, animal models are also needed to evaluate potential treatments. Here, we present an excisional, murine wound model in which a diminutive inoculum of a clinically relevant, multidrug-resistantA. baumanniiisolate can proliferate, form biofilms, and be effectively treated with antibiotics. The model requires a temporary, cyclophosphamide-induced neutropenia to establish an infection that can persist. A 6-mm-diameter, full-thickness wound was created in the skin overlying the thoracic spine, and after the wound bed was inoculated, it was covered with a dressing for 7 days. Uninoculated control wounds healed within 13 days, whereas infected, placebo-treated wounds remained unclosed beyond 21 days. Treated and untreated wounds were assessed with multiple quantitative and qualitative techniques that included gross pathology, weight loss and recovery, wound closure, bacterial burden, 16S rRNA community profiling, histopathology, peptide nucleic acid-fluorescencein situhybridization, and scanning electron microscopy assessment of biofilms. The range of differences that we are able to identify with these measures in antibiotic- versus placebo-treated animals provides a clear window within which novel antimicrobial therapies can be assessed. The model can be used to evaluate antimicrobials for their ability to reduce specific pathogen loads in wounded tissues and clear biofilms. Ultimately, the mouse model approach allows for highly powered studies and serves as an initial multifacetedin vivoassessment prior to testing in larger animals.

2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 1620-1626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osmar N. Silva ◽  
Isabel C. M. Fensterseifer ◽  
Elaine A. Rodrigues ◽  
Hortência H. S. Holanda ◽  
Natasha R. F. Novaes ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe rapid increase in the incidence of multidrug-resistant infections today has led to enormous interest in antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as suitable compounds for developing unusual antibiotics. In this study, clavanin A, an antimicrobial peptide previously isolated from the marine tunicateStyela clava, was selected as a purposeful molecule that could be used in controlling infection and further synthesized. Clavanin A wasin vitroevaluated againstStaphylococcus aureusandEscherichia colias well as toward L929 mouse fibroblasts and skin primary cells (SPCs). Moreover, this peptide was challenged here in anin vivowound and sepsis model, and the immune response was also analyzed. Despite displaying clearin vitroantimicrobial activity toward Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, clavanin A showed no cytotoxic activities against mammalian cells, and in acute toxicity tests, no adverse reaction was observed at any of the concentrations. Moreover, clavanin A significantly reduced theS. aureusCFU in an experimental wound model. This peptide also reduced the mortality of mice infected withE. coliandS. aureusby 80% compared with that of control animals (treated with phosphate-buffered saline [PBS]): these data suggest that clavanin A prevents the start of sepsis and thereby reduces mortality. These data suggest that clavanin A is an AMP that could improve the development of novel peptide-based strategies for the treatment of wound and sepsis infections.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 3603-3608 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Denys ◽  
J. C. Davis ◽  
P. D. O'Hanley ◽  
J. T. Stephens

ABSTRACTWe evaluated thein vitroandin vivoactivity of a novel topical myeloperoxidase-mediated antimicrobial, E-101 solution, against 5 multidrug-resistantAcinetobacter baumanniiisolates recovered from wounded American soldiers. Time-kill studies demonstrated rapid bactericidal activity against allA. baumanniistrains tested in the presence of 3% blood. Thein vitrobactericidal activity of E-101 solution againstA. baumanniistrains was confirmed in a full-thickness excision rat model. Additionalin vivostudies appear warranted.


2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 3910-3918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick M. Ketter ◽  
M. Neal Guentzel ◽  
Beverly Schaffer ◽  
Maryanne Herzig ◽  
Xiaowu Wu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMultidrug-resistantAcinetobacter baumanniiis among the most prevalent bacterial pathogens associated with trauma-related wound and bloodstream infections. Although septic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation have been reported following fulminantA. baumanniisepsis, little is known about the protective host immune response to this pathogen. In this study, we examined the role of PTX3, a soluble pattern recognition receptor with reported antimicrobial properties and stored within neutrophil granules. PTX3 production by murine J774a.1 macrophages was assessed following challenge withA. baumanniistrains ATCC 19606 and clinical isolates (CI) 77, 78, 79, 80, and 86. Interestingly, only CI strains 79, 80, and 86 induced PTX3 synthesis in murine J774a.1 macrophages, with greatest production observed following CI 79 and 86 challenge. Subsequently, C57BL/6 mice were challenged intraperitoneally with CI 77 and 79 to assess the role of PTX3in vivo.A. baumanniistrain CI 79 exhibited significantly (P< 0.0005) increased mortality, with an approximate 50% lethal dose (LD50) of 105CFU, while an equivalent dose of CI 77 exhibited no mortality. Plasma leukocyte chemokines (KC, MCP-1, and RANTES) and myeloperoxidase activity were also significantly elevated following challenge with CI 79, indicating neutrophil recruitment/activation associated with significant elevation in serum PTX3 levels. Furthermore, 10-fold-greater PTX3 levels were observed in mouse serum 12 h postchallenge, comparing CI 79 to CI 77 (1,561 ng/ml versus 145 ng/ml), with concomitant severe pathology (liver and spleen) and coagulopathy. Together, these results suggest that elevation of PTX3 is associated with fulminant disease duringA. baumanniisepsis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhou ◽  
Kimberly R. Ledesma ◽  
Kai-Tai Chang ◽  
Henrietta Abodakpi ◽  
Song Gao ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii is increasingly more prevalent in nosocomial infections. Although in vitro susceptibility of A. baumannii to minocycline is promising, the in vivo efficacy of minocycline has not been well established. In this study, the in vivo activity of minocycline was evaluated in a neutropenic murine pneumonia model. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between minocycline exposure and bactericidal activity using five A. baumannii isolates with a broad range of susceptibility (MIC ranged from 0.25 mg/liter to 16 mg/liter). The pharmacokinetics of minocycline (single dose of 25 mg/kg of body weight, 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and a humanized regimen, given intraperitoneally) in serum and epithelial lining fluid (ELF) were characterized. Dose linearity was observed for doses up to 50 mg/kg and pulmonary penetration ratios (area under the concentration-time curve in ELF from 0 to 24 h [AUCELF,0–24]/area under the concentration time curve in serum from 0 to 24 h [AUCserum,0–24]) ranged from 2.5 to 2.8. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamics (PK-PD) index values in ELF for various dose regimens against different A. baumannii isolates were calculated. The maximum efficacy at 24 h was approximately 1.5-log-unit reduction of pulmonary bacterial burdens from baseline. The AUC/MIC ratio was the PK-PD index most closely correlating to the bacterial burden (r 2 = 0.81). The required AUCELF,0–24/MIC for maintaining stasis and achieving 1-log-unit reduction were 140 and 410, respectively. These findings could guide the treatment of infections caused by A. baumannii using minocycline in the future. Additional studies to examine resistance development during therapy are warranted.


2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 1983-1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf Lood ◽  
Benjamin Y. Winer ◽  
Adam J. Pelzek ◽  
Roberto Diez-Martinez ◽  
Mya Thandar ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAcinetobacter baumannii, a Gram-negative multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterium, is now recognized as one of the more common nosocomial pathogens. Because most clinical isolates are found to be multidrug resistant, alternative therapies need to be developed to control this pathogen. We constructed a bacteriophage genomic library based on prophages induced from 13A. baumanniistrains and screened it for genes encoding bacteriolytic activity. Using this approach, we identified 21 distinct lysins with different activities and sequence diversity that were capable of killingA. baumannii. The lysin (PlyF307) displaying the greatest activity was further characterized and was shown to efficiently kill (>5-log-unit decrease) all testedA. baumanniiclinical isolates. Treatment with PlyF307 was able to significantly reduce planktonic and biofilmA. baumanniibothin vitroandin vivo. Finally, PlyF307 rescued mice from lethalA. baumanniibacteremia and as such represents the first highly active therapeutic lysin specific for Gram-negative organisms in an array of native lysins found inAcinetobacterphage.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee Fleeman ◽  
Kurt S. Van Horn ◽  
Megan M. Barber ◽  
Whittney N. Burda ◽  
David L. Flanigan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We previously reported a series of N 2,N 4-disubstituted quinazoline-2,4-diamines as dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors with potent in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. In this work, we extended our previous study to the Gram-negative pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. We determined that optimized N 2,N 4-disubstituted quinazoline-2,4-diamines are strongly antibacterial against multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strains when the 6-position is replaced with a halide or an alkyl substituent. Such agents display potent antibacterial activity, with MICs as low as 0.5 μM, while proving to be strongly bactericidal. Interestingly, these compounds also possess the potential for antibiofilm activity, eradicating 90% of cells within a biofilm at or near MICs. Using serial passage assays, we observed a limited capacity for the development of resistance toward these molecules (4-fold increase in MIC) compared to existing folic acid synthesis inhibitors, such as trimethoprim (64-fold increase) and sulfamethoxazole (128-fold increase). We also identified limited toxicity toward human cells, with 50% lethal doses (LD50s) of ≤23 μM for lead agents 4 and 5. Finally, we demonstrated that our lead agents have excellent in vivo efficacy, with lead agent 5 proving more efficacious than tigecycline in a murine model of A. baumannii infection (90% survival versus 66%), despite being used at a lower dose (2 versus 30 mg kg−1). Together, our results demonstrate that N 2,N 4-disubstituted quinazoline-2,4-diamines have strong antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities against both Gram-positive organisms and Gram-negative pathogens, suggesting strong potential for their development as antibacterial agents.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 5806-5816 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Regeimbal ◽  
Anna C. Jacobs ◽  
Brendan W. Corey ◽  
Matthew S. Henry ◽  
Mitchell G. Thompson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMultidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens are an increasing threat to public health, and lytic bacteriophages have reemerged as a potential therapeutic option. In this work, we isolated and assembled a five-member cocktail of wild phages againstAcinetobacter baumanniiand demonstrated therapeutic efficacy in a mouse full-thickness dorsal infected wound model. The cocktail lowers the bioburden in the wound, prevents the spread of infection and necrosis to surrounding tissue, and decreases infection-associated morbidity. Interestingly, this effective cocktail is composed of four phages that do not kill the parent strain of the infection and one phage that simply delays bacterial growthin vitrovia a strong but incomplete selection event. The cocktail here appears to function in a combinatorial manner, as one constituent phage targets capsulatedA. baumanniibacteria and selects for loss of receptor, shifting the population to an uncapsulated state that is then sensitized to the remaining four phages in the cocktail. Additionally, capsule is a known virulence factor forA. baumannii, and we demonstrated that the emergent uncapsulated bacteria are avirulent in aGalleria mellonellamodel. These results highlight the importance of anticipating population changes during phage therapy and designing intelligent cocktails to control emergent strains, as well as the benefits of using phages that target virulence factors. Because of the efficacy of this cocktail isolated from a limited environmental pool, we have established a pipeline for developing new phage therapeutics against additional clinically relevant multidrug-resistant pathogens by using environmental phages sourced from around the globe.


2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. e01040-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean M. Stainton ◽  
Marguerite L. Monogue ◽  
Masakatsu Tsuji ◽  
Yoshinori Yamano ◽  
Roger Echols ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Herein, we evaluated sustainability of humanized exposures of cefiderocol in vivo over 72 h against pathogens with cefiderocol MICs of 0.5 to 16 μg/ml in the neutropenic murine thigh model. In Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacteriaceae displaying MICs of 0.5 to 8 μg/ml (n = 11), sustained kill was observed at 72 h among 9 isolates. Postexposure MICs revealed a single 2-dilution increase in one animal compared with controls (1/54 samples, 1.8%) at 72 h. Adaptive resistance during therapy was not observed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 3415-3418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Zander ◽  
Harald Seifert ◽  
Paul G. Higgins

Different physiological conditions, such as NaCl, low pH, and sodium salicylate, have been shown to affect antibiotic resistance determinants inAcinetobacter baumanniiisolates. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of NaCl, sodium salicylate, and low pH on the susceptibility ofA. baumanniito carbapenem. We cloned genes encoding oxacillinases (OXA) of different subclasses, with their associated promoters, from carbapenem-resistantA. baumanniiisolates into the same vector and transferred them to theA. baumanniireference strains ATCC 19606 and ATCC 17978. Carbapenem MICs were determined at least in triplicate by agar dilution under standard conditions, as well as in the presence of 200 mM NaCl or 16 mM sodium salicylate, or at pH 5.8. OXA-58-like gene expression was determined by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). Under some experimental conditions, significant MIC reductions were shown for some transformants but not for others. Only in one instance were all transformants harboring the same OXA affected by the same condition: at pH 5.8, the imipenem and meropenem MICs for strains expressing OXA-58-like enzymes decreased from a resistant level (32 to 64 mg/liter) to an intermediate-susceptible level (8 mg/liter). However,blaOXA-58-likegene expression remained the same. MICs for both wild-type reference strains were not affected by the conditions tested. Our results indicate that the effects of the experimental conditions tested on OXAin vivoare mostly strain dependent. MICs were not reduced to wild-type levels, suggesting that the conditions tested do not lead to complete OXA inhibition in the bacterial cell.


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