Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus causes a broad range of life-threatening diseases in humans. The pathogenicity of this micro-organism is largely dependent upon its virulence factors. One of the most extensively studied virulence factors is the extracellular protein α-toxin. In this study, we show that allicin, an organosulfur compound, was active against S. aureus with MICs ranged from 32 to 64 μg/mL. Haemolysis, Western blot and real-time RT-PCR assays were used to evaluate the effects of allicin on S. aureus α-toxin production and on the levels of gene expression, respectively. The results of our study indicated that sub-inhibitory concentrations of allicin decreased the production of α-toxin in both methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the transcriptional levels of agr (accessory gene regulator) in S. aureus were inhibited by allicin. Therefore, allicin may be useful in the treatment of α-toxin-producing S. aureus infections.
Highlights
Staphylococcus aureus is an important Gram-positive human pathogen that causes myriad diseases, including typical skin and soft tissue infections, and life-threatening invasive diseases such as endocarditis, osteomelytis, pneumonia and toxinosis [1]
The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of allicin show no remarkable difference between methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains
The clinical efficacy of new antibacterial agents used for the treatment of S. aureus infections should depend on the respective bacteriostatic or bactericidal effects and the ability to prevent virulence factor produced by bacteria
Summary
Staphylococcus aureus is an important Gram-positive human pathogen that causes myriad diseases, including typical skin and soft tissue infections, and life-threatening invasive diseases such as endocarditis, osteomelytis, pneumonia and toxinosis [1]. It has been well manifested that α-toxin plays critical role in many S. aureus infections, such as intraperitoneal, intramammary, and corneal infection, as well as staphylococcal pneumonia, as strains lacking α-toxin are less virulent in animal models of diseases [8,9,10,11]. Considering the role of α-toxin in disease, it could be an important target for the development of anti-virulence agents to combat S. aureus-mediated diseases [9]. Such strategy relies on newly discovered synthetic or natural small organic compounds that possess anti-virulence activity [12].
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