Anti-Virulence Potential of a Chionodracine-Derived Peptide against Multidrug-Resistant <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> Clinical Isolates from Cystic Fibrosis Patients

oleh: Marco Artini, Esther Imperlini, Francesco Buonocore, Michela Relucenti, Fernando Porcelli, Orlando Donfrancesco, Vanessa Tuccio Guarna Assanti, Ersilia Vita Fiscarelli, Rosanna Papa, Laura Selan

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-11-01

Deskripsi

<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> is an opportunistic pathogen causing several chronic infections resistant to currently available antibiotics. Its pathogenicity is related to the production of different virulence factors such as biofilm and protease secretion. <i>Pseudomonas</i> communities can persist in biofilms that protect bacterial cells from antibiotics. Hence, there is a need for innovative approaches that are able to counteract these virulence factors, which play a pivotal role, especially in chronic infections. In this context, antimicrobial peptides are emerging drugs showing a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. Here, we tested the anti-virulence activity of a chionodracine-derived peptide (KHS-Cnd) on five <i>P. aeruginosa</i> clinical isolates from cystic fibrosis patients. We demonstrated that KHS-Cnd impaired biofilm development and caused biofilm disaggregation without affecting bacterial viability in nearly all of the tested strains. Ultrastructural morphological analysis showed that the effect of KHS-Cnd on biofilm could be related to a different compactness of the matrix. KHS-Cnd was also able to reduce adhesion to pulmonary cell lines and to impair the invasion of host cells by <i>P. aeruginosa</i>. A cytotoxic effect of KHS-Cnd was observed only at the highest tested concentration. This study highlights the potential of KHS-Cnd as an anti-biofilm and anti-virulence molecule against <i>P. aeruginosa</i> clinical strains.