scholarly journals Synergistic Interactions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus in anIn VitroWound Model

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (11) ◽  
pp. 4718-4728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie DeLeon ◽  
Allie Clinton ◽  
Haley Fowler ◽  
Jake Everett ◽  
Alexander R. Horswill ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIn individuals with polymicrobial infections, microbes often display synergistic interactions that can enhance their colonization, virulence, or persistence. One of the most prevalent types of polymicrobial infection occurs in chronic wounds, wherePseudomonas aeruginosaandStaphylococcus aureusare the two most common causes. Although they are the most commonly associated microbial species in wound infections, very little is known about their interspecies relationship. Evidence suggests thatP. aeruginosa–S. aureuscoinfections are more virulent than monoculture infection with either species; however, difficulties in growing these two pathogens togetherin vitrohave hampered attempts to uncover the mechanisms involved. Here we describe a simple and clinically relevantin vitrowound model that supported concomitant growth ofP. aeruginosaandS. aureus. We observed that the ability ofP. aeruginosaandS. aureusto survive antibiotic treatment increased when they were grown together in planktonic cocultures and that antibiotic tolerance was further enhanced when they were grown together in the wound model. We attributed this enhanced tolerance to both the “host-derived” and “bacterium-derived” matrix components. Taken together, our data indicate thatP. aeruginosaandS. aureusmay benefit each other by coinfecting wounds and that the host-derived matrix may serve as important a role as the bacterium-derived matrix in protecting bacteria from some antibiotics.

2019 ◽  
Vol 202 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney E. Price ◽  
Dustin G. Brown ◽  
Dominique H. Limoli ◽  
Vanessa V. Phelan ◽  
George A. O’Toole

ABSTRACT Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients chronically infected with both Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus have worse health outcomes than patients who are monoinfected with either P. aeruginosa or S. aureus. We showed previously that mucoid strains of P. aeruginosa can coexist with S. aureus in vitro due to the transcriptional downregulation of several toxic exoproducts typically produced by P. aeruginosa, including siderophores, rhamnolipids, and HQNO (2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide). Here, we demonstrate that exogenous alginate protects S. aureus from P. aeruginosa in both planktonic and biofilm coculture models under a variety of nutritional conditions. S. aureus protection in the presence of exogenous alginate is due to the transcriptional downregulation of pvdA, a gene required for the production of the iron-scavenging siderophore pyoverdine as well as the downregulation of the PQS (Pseudomonas quinolone signal) (2-heptyl-3,4-dihydroxyquinoline) quorum sensing system. The impact of exogenous alginate is independent of endogenous alginate production. We further demonstrate that coculture of mucoid P. aeruginosa with nonmucoid P. aeruginosa strains can mitigate the killing of S. aureus by the nonmucoid strain of P. aeruginosa, indicating that the mechanism that we describe here may function in vivo in the context of mixed infections. Finally, we investigated a panel of mucoid clinical isolates that retain the ability to kill S. aureus at late time points and show that each strain has a unique expression profile, indicating that mucoid isolates can overcome the S. aureus-protective effects of mucoidy in a strain-specific manner. IMPORTANCE CF patients are chronically infected by polymicrobial communities. The two dominant bacterial pathogens that infect the lungs of CF patients are P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, with ∼30% of patients coinfected by both species. Such coinfected individuals have worse outcomes than monoinfected patients, and both species persist within the same physical space. A variety of host and environmental factors have been demonstrated to promote P. aeruginosa-S. aureus coexistence, despite evidence that P. aeruginosa kills S. aureus when these organisms are cocultured in vitro. Thus, a better understanding of P. aeruginosa-S. aureus interactions, particularly mechanisms by which these microorganisms are able to coexist in proximal physical space, will lead to better-informed treatments for chronic polymicrobial infections.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 4353-4361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos J. Sanchez ◽  
Kevin S. Akers ◽  
Desiree R. Romano ◽  
Ronald L. Woodbury ◽  
Sharanda K. Hardy ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWithin wounds, microorganisms predominantly exist as biofilms. Biofilms are associated with chronic infections and represent a tremendous clinical challenge. As antibiotics are often ineffective against biofilms, use of dispersal agents as adjunctive, topical therapies for the treatment of wound infections involving biofilms has gained interest. We evaluatedin vitrothe dispersive activity ofd-amino acids (d-AAs) on biofilms from clinical wound isolates ofStaphylococcus aureusandPseudomonas aeruginosa; moreover, we determined whether combinations ofd-AAs and antibiotics (clindamycin, cefazolin, oxacillin, rifampin, and vancomycin forS. aureusand amikacin, colistin, ciprofloxacin, imipenem, and ceftazidime forP. aeruginosa) enhance activity against biofilms.d-Met,d-Phe, andd-Trp at concentrations of ≥5 mM effectively dispersed preformed biofilms ofS. aureusandP. aeruginosaclinical isolates, an effect that was enhanced when they were combined as an equimolar mixture (d-Met/d-Phe/d-Trp). When combined withd-AAs, the activity of rifampin was significantly enhanced against biofilms of clinical isolates ofS. aureus, as indicated by a reduction in the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) (from 32 to 8 μg/ml) and a >2-log reduction of viable biofilm bacteria compared to treatment with antibiotic alone. The addition ofd-AAs was also observed to enhance the activity of colistin and ciprofloxacin against biofilms ofP. aeruginosa, reducing the observed MBIC and the number of viable bacteria by >2 logs and 1 log at 64 and 32 μg/ml in contrast to antibiotics alone. These findings indicate that the biofilm dispersal activity ofd-AAs may represent an effective strategy, in combination with antimicrobials, to release bacteria from biofilms, subsequently enhancing antimicrobial activity.


2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 4084-4089 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Fazli ◽  
T. Bjarnsholt ◽  
K. Kirketerp-Moller ◽  
B. Jorgensen ◽  
A. S. Andersen ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 7606-7610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaat De Cremer ◽  
Nicolas Delattin ◽  
Katrijn De Brucker ◽  
Annelies Peeters ◽  
Soña Kucharíková ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWe here report on thein vitroactivity of toremifene to inhibit biofilm formation of different fungal and bacterial pathogens, includingCandida albicans,Candida glabrata,Candida dubliniensis,Candida krusei,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Staphylococcus aureus, andStaphylococcus epidermidis. We validated thein vivoefficacy of orally administered toremifene againstC. albicans and S. aureusbiofilm formation in a rat subcutaneous catheter model. Combined, our results demonstrate the potential of toremifene as a broad-spectrum oral antibiofilm compound.


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