Antipathogenic Compounds That Are Effective at Very Low Concentrations and Have Both Antibiofilm and Antivirulence Effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

• Published in: Microbiology spectrum Vol. 9; no. 2; p. e0024921
• Main Authors: Hwang, Hyeon-Ji, Choi, Heejeong, Hong, Sojeong, Moon, Hyung Ryong, Lee, Joon-Hee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 31-10-2021
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; antibiofilm; Antimicrobial Chemotherapy; antivirulence; biofilm; Biofilms - drug effects; Biofilms - growth & development; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - drug effects; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - genetics; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - pathogenicity; Pseudomonas Infections - drug therapy; quorum sensing; Quorum Sensing - drug effects; Research Article; Tenebrio - microbiology; virulence; Virulence - drug effects; Virulence Factors - biosynthesis; quorum sensing; virulence; antibiofilm; antipathogenic compound; biofilm; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; chemical screening; antivirulence
• ISSN: 2165-0497; 2165-0497
• DOI: 10.1128/Spectrum.00249-21

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a human pathogen, causes both acute and chronic infections that are mediated by virulence factor production and biofilm formation. Since both characteristics of P. aeruginosa are regulated by quorum sensing (QS), we screened 126 synthetic chemicals for anti-QS activity and finally selected the compounds that have both antivirulence and antibiofilm activities. To efficiently screen the chemical library, the following reporter-based bioassay systems were used: the QS- or biofilm-specific promoter-
fusions (
- or
-
for the QS activity and
-
for measuring the intracellular c-di-GMP levels). We also measured the production of virulence factors and biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa. A small-animal infection model using mealworms was also used for virulence analysis. From this screening, MHY1383 and MHY1387 were found to have both antivirulence and antibiofilm activities in P. aeruginosa. Most importantly, MHY1383 and MHY1387 exhibited these activities at very low concentrations, showing a significant anti-QS effect at 100 pM and an antibiofilm effect at 1 to 10 pM. By treating P. aeruginosa with these compounds, the virulence factor production and biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa were significantly reduced. These compounds can be developed as promising antipathogenic and antibiofilm drugs that can be applied in situations where such compounds must be used in an extremely low concentration. Our findings also offer a significant advantage for developing therapeutic agents with few adverse side effects.
Many antibiotics are increasingly losing their efficacy due to antibiotic resistance mediated by biofilm formation. In this study, we screened a synthetic chemical library and discovered several compounds that have both antivirulence and antibiofilm effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a notorious human pathogen. Two of them had these effects at extremely low concentrations and are expected not to develop resistance, unlike conventional antibiotics, because they have no effect on the growth of bacteria. Our results strongly suggest that these compounds act on the target in a noncompetitive manner, indicating that they are distinct from other previously known quorum sensing inhibitors or biofilm inhibitors. Our findings offer a significant advantage for developing therapeutic agents with few adverse side effects.