Project description:A declining pipeline of clinically useful antibiotics has made it imperative to develop more effective antimicrobial therapies, particularly against difficult-to-treat Gram-negative pathogens. Silver has been used as an antimicrobial since antiquity, yet its mechanism of action remains unclear. We show that silver disrupts multiple bacterial cellular processes, including disulfide bond formation, metabolism, and iron homeostasis. These changes lead to increased production of reactive oxygen species and increased membrane permeability of Gram-negative bacteria that can potentiate the activity of a broad range of antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria in different metabolic states, as well as restore antibiotic susceptibility to a resistant bacterial strain. We show both in vitro and in a mouse model of urinary tract infection that the ability of silver to induce oxidative stress can be harnessed to potentiate antibiotic activity. Additionally, we demonstrate in vitro and in two different mouse models of peritonitis that silver sensitizes Gram-negative bacteria to the Gram-positive-specific antibiotic vancomycin, thereby expanding the antibacterial spectrum of this drug. Finally, we used silver and antibiotic combinations in vitro to eradicate bacterial persister cells, and show both in vitro and in a mouse biofilm infection model that silver can enhance antibacterial action against bacteria that produce biofilms. This work shows that silver can be used to enhance the action of existing antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria, thus strengthening the antibiotic arsenal for fighting bacterial infections.
Project description:Biofilms are surface-associated microbial communities known for their increased resistance to antimicrobials and host factors. This resistance introduces a critical clinical challenge, particularly in cases associated with implants increasing the predisposition for bacterial infections. Preventing such infections requires the development of novel antimicrobials or compounds that enhance bactericidal effect of currently available antibiotics. We have synthesized and characterized twelve novel silver(I) cyanoximates designated as Ag(ACO), Ag(BCO), Ag(CCO), Ag(ECO), Ag(PiCO), Ag(PICO) (yellow and red polymorphs), Ag(BIHCO), Ag(BIMCO), Ag(BOCO), Ag(BTCO), Ag(MCO) and Ag(PiPCO). The compounds exhibit a remarkable resistance to high intensity visible light, UV radiation and heat and have poor solubility in water. All these compounds can be well incorporated into the light-curable acrylate polymeric composites that are currently used as dental fillers or adhesives of indwelling medical devices. A range of dry weight % from 0.5 to 5.0 of the compounds was tested in this study. To study the potential of these compounds in preventing planktonic and biofilm growth of bacteria, we selected two human pathogens (Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-positive environmental isolate Bacillus aryabhattai. Both planktonic and biofilm growth was abolished completely in the presence of 0.5% to 5% of the compounds. The most efficient inhibition was shown by Ag(PiCO), Ag(BIHCO) and Ag(BTCO). The inhibition of biofilm growth by Ag(PiCO)-yellow was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Application of Ag(BTCO) and Ag(PiCO)-red in combination with tobramycin, the antibiotic commonly used to treat P. aeruginosa infections, showed a significant synergistic effect. Finally, the inhibitory effect lasted for at least 120 h in P. aeruginosa and 36 h in S. aureus and B. aryabhattai. Overall, several silver(I) cyanoximates complexes efficiently prevent biofilm development of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and present a particularly significant potential for applications against P. aeruginosa infections.
Project description:This deposit is composed of paired-end reads from 90 isolates of four different gram-negative bacterial species. The raw reads were used to generate predictions of antimicrobial resistance. Raw sequence reads
Project description:Background: The uncontrolled and widespread use of (nano)silver compounds has led to the increased release of these compounds into the environment, raising concerns about their negative impact on ecosystems. Concomitantly, silver resistance determinants are widely spread among environmental and clinically relevant bacteria although the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Results: In this study, we show that Cupriavidus metallidurans is able to adapt to toxic silver concentrations and explicate the genetic circuit responsible for this adaptation. None of the known silver resistant determinants present in C. metallidurans are involved in the adapted response. Instead, increased silver resistance is achieved by the concerted action of a two-component system AgrR-AgrS, previously not associated with metal resistance, and two intrinsically disordered proteins PrsQ1 and PrsQ2. Both belong to an unique group of small, uncharacterized, extracellular proteins restricted to the genera Cupriavidus and Ralstonia. This system seems to be much more efficient as it gives C. metallidurans the ability to withstand much higher silver concentrations. The latter could be facilitated by the accumulation of silver ions and the formation of silver nanoparticles. Conclusions: Detailed knowledge and exploitation of this protein family could result in novel routes for metal nanoparticle formation and metal processing relevant for biotechnical and biomedical applications.