scholarly journals Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO 1 In Vitro Time–Kill Kinetics Using Single Phages and Phage Formulations—Modulating Death, Adaptation, and Resistance

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 877
Author(s):  
Ana Mafalda Pinto ◽  
Alberta Faustino ◽  
Lorenzo M. Pastrana ◽  
Manuel Bañobre-López ◽  
Sanna Sillankorva

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is responsible for nosocomial and chronic infections in healthcare settings. The major challenge in treating P. aeruginosa-related diseases is its remarkable capacity for antibiotic resistance development. Bacteriophage (phage) therapy is regarded as a possible alternative that has, for years, attracted attention for fighting multidrug-resistant infections. In this work, we characterized five phages showing different lytic spectrums towards clinical isolates. Two of these phages were isolated from the Russian Microgen Sextaphage formulation and belong to the Phikmvviruses, while three Pbunaviruses were isolated from sewage. Different phage formulations for the treatment of P. aeruginosa PAO1 resulted in diversified time–kill outcomes. The best result was obtained with a formulation with all phages, prompting a lower frequency of resistant variants and considerable alterations in cell motility, resulting in a loss of 73.7% in swimming motility and a 79% change in swarming motility. These alterations diminished the virulence of the phage-resisting phenotypes but promoted their growth since most became insensitive to a single or even all phages. However, not all combinations drove to enhanced cell killings due to the competition and loss of receptors. This study highlights that more caution is needed when developing cocktail formulations to maximize phage therapy efficacy. Selecting phages for formulations should consider the emergence of phage-resistant bacteria and whether the formulations are intended for short-term or extended antibacterial application.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 478
Author(s):  
Ersilia Vita Fiscarelli ◽  
Martina Rossitto ◽  
Paola Rosati ◽  
Nour Essa ◽  
Valentina Crocetta ◽  
...  

As disease worsens in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) colonizes the lungs, causing pulmonary failure and mortality. Progressively, PA forms typical biofilms, and antibiotic treatments determine multidrug-resistant (MDR) PA strains. To advance new therapies against MDR PA, research has reappraised bacteriophages (phages), viruses naturally infecting bacteria. Because few in vitro studies have tested phages on CF PA biofilms, general reliability remains unclear. This study aimed to test in vitro newly isolated environmental phage activity against PA isolates from patients with CF at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (OBG), Rome, Italy. After testing in vitro phage activities, we combined phages with amikacin, meropenem, and tobramycin against CF PA pre-formed biofilms. We also investigated new emerging morphotypes and bacterial regrowth. We obtained 22 newly isolated phages from various environments, including OBG. In about 94% of 32 CF PA isolates tested, these phages showed in vitro PA lysis. Despite poor efficacy against chronic CF PA, five selected-lytic-phages (Φ4_ZP1, Φ9_ZP2, Φ14_OBG, Φ17_OBG, and Φ19_OBG) showed wide host activity. The Φ4_ZP1-meropenem and Φ14_OBG-tobramycin combinations significantly reduced CF PA biofilms (p < 0.001). To advance potential combined phage-antibiotic therapy, we envisage further in vitro test combinations with newly isolated phages, including those from hospital environments, against CF PA biofilms from early and chronic infections.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 751
Author(s):  
Marwa Reda Bakkar ◽  
Ahmed Hassan Ibrahim Faraag ◽  
Elham R. S. Soliman ◽  
Manar S. Fouda ◽  
Amir Mahfouz Mokhtar Sarguos ◽  
...  

COVID-19 is a pandemic disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2, which continues to cause global health and economic problems since emerging in China in late 2019. Until now, there are no standard antiviral treatments. Thus, several strategies were adopted to minimize virus transmission, such as social distancing, face covering protection and hand hygiene. Rhamnolipids are glycolipids produced formally by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and as biosurfactants, they were shown to have broad antimicrobial activity. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial activity of rhamnolipids against selected multidrug resistant bacteria and SARS-CoV-2. Rhamnolipids were produced by growing Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain LeS3 in a new medium formulated from chicken carcass soup. The isolated rhamnolipids were characterized for their molecular composition, formulated into nano-micelles, and the antibacterial activity of the nano-micelles was demonstrated in vitro against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive drug resistant bacteria. In silico studies docking rhamnolipids to structural and non-structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 was also performed. We demonstrated the efficient and specific interaction of rhamnolipids with the active sites of these proteins. Additionally, the computational studies suggested that rhamnolipids have membrane permeability activity. Thus, the obtained results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 could be another target of rhamnolipids and could find utility in the fight against COVID-19, a future perspective to be considered.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris H. Chen ◽  
David P. Nicolau ◽  
Joseph L. Kuti

ABSTRACT Combination therapy may enhance imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam’s (I/R) activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and suppress resistance development. Human-simulated unbound plasma concentrations of I/R at 1.25 g every 6 h (h), colistin at 360 mg daily, and amikacin at 25 mg/kg daily were reproduced alone and in combination against six imipenem-nonsusceptible P. aeruginosa isolates in an in vitro pharmacodynamic model over 24 h. For I/R alone, the mean reductions in CFU ± the standard errors by 24 h were −2.52 ± 0.49, −1.49 ± 0.49, −1.15 ± 0.67, and −0.61 ± 0.10 log10 CFU/ml against isolates with MICs of 1/4, 2/4, 4/4, and 8/4 μg/ml, respectively. Amikacin alone also resulted in 24 h CFU reductions consistent with its MIC, while colistin CFU reductions did not differ. Resistant subpopulations were observed after 24 h in 1, 4, and 3 I/R-, colistin-, and amikacin-exposed isolates, respectively. The combination of I/R and colistin resulted in synergistic (n = 1) or additive (n = 2) interactions against three isolates with 24-h CFU reductions ranging from −2.62 to −4.67 log10 CFU/ml. The combination of I/R and amikacin exhibited indifferent interactions against all isolates, with combined drugs achieving −0.51- to −3.33-log10 CFU/ml reductions. No resistant subpopulations were observed during I/R and colistin combination studies, and when added to amikacin, I/R prevented the emergence of amikacin resistance. Against these six multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa, I/R alone achieved significant CFU reductions against I/R-susceptible isolates. Combinations of I/R plus colistin resulted in additivity or synergy against some P. aeruginosa, whereas the addition of amikacin did not provide further antibacterial efficacy against these isolates.


Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 885
Author(s):  
Soraya Herrera-Espejo ◽  
Tania Cebrero-Cangueiro ◽  
Gema Labrador-Herrera ◽  
Jerónimo Pachón ◽  
María Eugenia Pachón-Ibáñez ◽  
...  

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a public health problem causing both community and hospital-acquired infections, and thus the development of new therapies for these infections is critical. The objective of this study was to analyze in vitro the activity of pentamidine as adjuvant in combinations to antibiotics against seven clinical P. aeruginosa strains. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was determined following standard protocols, and the results were interpreted according to the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) breakpoints; however, the gentamicin activity was interpreted according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recommendations. The bactericidal in vitro activity was studied at 1×MIC concentrations by time–kill curves, and also performed in three selected strains at 1/2×MIC of pentamidine. All studies were performed in triplicate. The pentamidine MIC range was 400–1600 μg/mL. Four of the strains were MDR, and the other three were resistant to two antibiotic families. The combinations of pentamidine at 1×MIC showed synergistic activity against all the tested strains, except for pentamidine plus colistin. Pentamidine plus imipenem and meropenem were the combinations that showed synergistic activity against the most strains. At 1/2×MIC, pentamidine plus antibiotics were synergistic with all three analyzed strains. In summary, pentamidine in combination with antibiotics showed in vitro synergy against multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa clinical strains, which suggests its possible use as adjuvant to antibiotics for the therapy of infections from MDR P. aeruginosa.


2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (15) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Antonio Carballo-Ontiveros ◽  
Adrián Cazares ◽  
Pablo Vinuesa ◽  
Luis Kameyama ◽  
Gabriel Guarneros

ABSTRACT In this study, we describe seven vegetative phage genomes homologous to the historic phage B3 that infect Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Like other phage groups, the B3-like group contains conserved (core) and variable (accessory) open reading frames (ORFs) grouped at fixed regions in their genomes; however, in either case, many ORFs remain without assigned functions. We constructed lysogens of the seven B3-like phages in strain Ps33 of P. aeruginosa, a novel clinical isolate, and assayed the exclusion phenotype against a variety of temperate and virulent superinfecting phages. In addition to the classic exclusion conferred by the phage immunity repressor, the phenotype observed in B3-like lysogens suggested the presence of other exclusion genes. We set out to identify the genes responsible for this exclusion phenotype. Phage Ps56 was chosen as the study subject since it excluded numerous temperate and virulent phages. Restriction of the Ps56 genome, cloning of several fragments, and resection of the fragments that retained the exclusion phenotype allowed us to identify two core ORFs, so far without any assigned function, as responsible for a type of exclusion. Neither gene expressed separately from plasmids showed activity, but the concurrent expression of both ORFs is needed for exclusion. Our data suggest that phage adsorption occurs but that phage genome translocation to the host’s cytoplasm is defective. To our knowledge, this is the first report on this type of exclusion mediated by a prophage in P. aeruginosa. IMPORTANCE Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative bacterium frequently isolated from infected immunocompromised patients, and the strains are resistant to a broad spectrum of antibiotics. Recently, the use of phages has been proposed as an alternative therapy against multidrug-resistant bacteria. However, this approach may present various hurdles. This work addresses the problem that pathogenic bacteria may be lysogenized by phages carrying genes encoding resistance against secondary infections, such as those used in phage therapy. Discovering phage genes that exclude superinfecting phages not only assigns novel functions to orphan genes in databases but also provides insight into selection of the proper phages for use in phage therapy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 5134-5142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip J. Bergen ◽  
Alan Forrest ◽  
Jürgen B. Bulitta ◽  
Brian T. Tsuji ◽  
Hanna E. Sidjabat ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe use of combination antibiotic therapy may be beneficial against rapidly emerging resistance inPseudomonas aeruginosa. The aim of this study was to systematically investigatein vitrobacterial killing and resistance emergence with colistin alone and in combination with imipenem against multidrug-resistant (MDR)P. aeruginosa. Time-kill studies were conducted over 48 h using 5 clinical isolates and ATCC 27853 at two inocula (∼106and ∼108CFU/ml); MDR, non-MDR, and colistin-heteroresistant and -resistant strains were included. Nine colistin-imipenem combinations were investigated. Microbiological response was examined by log changes at 6, 24, and 48 h. Colistin combined with imipenem at clinically relevant concentrations increased the levels of killing of MDR and colistin-heteroresistant isolates at both inocula. Substantial improvements in activity with combinations were observed across 48 h with all colistin concentrations at the low inoculum and with colistin at 4× and 16× MIC (or 4 and 32 mg/liter) at the high inoculum. Combinations were additive or synergistic against imipenem-resistant isolates (MICs, 16 and 32 mg/liter) at the 106-CFU inoculum in 9, 11, and 12 of 18 cases (i.e., 9 combinations across 2 isolates) at 6, 24, and 48 h, respectively, and against the same isolates at the 108-CFU inoculum in 11, 7, and 8 cases, respectively. Against a colistin-resistant strain (MIC, 128 mg/liter), combinations were additive or synergistic in 9 and 8 of 9 cases at 24 h at the 106- and 108-CFU inocula, respectively, and in 5 and 7 cases at 48 h. This systematic study provides important information for optimization of colistin-imipenem combinations targeting both colistin-susceptible and colistin-resistant subpopulations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaojun Zheng ◽  
Nagendran Tharmalingam ◽  
Qingzhong Liu ◽  
Elamparithi Jayamani ◽  
Wooseong Kim ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance has created an urgent need for alternative drugs with new mechanisms of action. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates that could address the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria, either alone or in combination with conventional antibiotics. We studied the antimicrobial efficacy and bactericidal mechanism of cecropin A2, a 36-residue α-helical cationic peptide derived from Aedes aegypti cecropin A, focusing on the common pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The peptide showed little hemolytic activity and toxicity toward mammalian cells, and the MICs against most clinical P. aeruginosa isolates were 32 to 64 μg/ml, and its MICs versus other Gram-negative bacteria were 2 to 32 μg/ml. Importantly, cecropin A2 demonstrated synergistic activity against P. aeruginosa when combined with tetracycline, reducing the MICs of both agents by 8-fold. The combination was also effective in vivo in the P. aeruginosa/Galleria mellonella model (P < 0.001). We found that cecropin A2 bound to P. aeruginosa lipopolysaccharides, permeabilized the membrane, and interacted with the bacterial genomic DNA, thus facilitating the translocation of tetracycline into the cytoplasm. In summary, the combination of cecropin A2 and tetracycline demonstrated synergistic antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa in vitro and in vivo, offering an alternative approach for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Hai Anh ◽  
Tran Huy Hoang ◽  
Vu Thi Ngoc Bich ◽  
Trinh Son Tung ◽  
Tran Dieu Linh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Multidrug-resistant bacteria including carbapenem resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa are recognised as an important cause of hospital-acquired infections worldwide. To determine the molecular characterisation and antibiotic resistant genes associated with carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa. Methods: we conducted whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 72 carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolated from hospital-acquired infection patients from 2010 to 2015 in three major hospitals in Hanoi, Vietnam. Results: We identified three variants of IMP genes, among which IMP-15 gene was the most frequent (n= 34) in comparison to IMP-26 (n= 2) and IMP-51 (n=12). We observed two isolates with imipenem MIC >128mg/L that co-harboured IMP-15 and DIM-1 genes and seven isolates (imipenem MIC> 128mg/L) with KPC-1 gene from the same hospital. MLST data showed that sequence types (ST) of 72 isolates were classified into 18 STs and phylogenetic tree analysis divided these isolates into nine groups. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that not only IMP-26, but other variants of IMPs like IMP-15 and IMP-51 genes and several STs (ST235, ST244, ST277, ST310, ST773 and ST3151) have been disseminated in health care settings in Vietnam. Also, we report the first finding in Vietnam that two isolates belonging to ST1240 and ST3340 harboured two important carbapenemase genes (IMP-15 and, DIM-1) and seven isolates belonging to ST3151 of P. aeruginosa carried the KPC-1 gene, which could be a potential cause of seriously restricted available treatment options in healthcare settings.


2020 ◽  
pp. jim-2020-001573
Author(s):  
Sanjida Jahan ◽  
Heather Davis ◽  
Deborah S Ashcraft ◽  
George A Pankey

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a nosocomial pathogen containing various resistance mechanisms. Among them, metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)–producing Pseudomonas are difficult to treat. Fosfomycin is an older antibiotic that has recently seen increased usage due to its activity against a broad spectrum of multidrug-resistant organisms. Our aim was to evaluate the combination of fosfomycin and meropenem against 20 MBL-producing P. aeruginosa (100% meropenem-resistant and 20% fosfomycin-resistant) using both an Etest minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC): MIC method and time-kill assay. MICs for fosfomycin and meropenem were determined by Etest and by broth microdilution method for the latter. The combination demonstrated synergy by Etest in 3/20 (15%) isolates and 5/20 (25%) isolates by time-kill assay. Results from the Etest method and time-kill assay were in agreement for 14/20 (70%) of isolates. No antagonism was found. Comparing both methods, Etest MIC: MIC method may be useful to rapidly evaluate other antimicrobial combinations.


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