Antibacterial, Antibiofilm and Anti-Virulence Activity of Biactive Fractions from Mucus Secretion of Giant African Snail Achatina fulica against Staphylococcus aureus Strains.

Libardo Suárez,Andrés Pereira,Nelson Uribe,William Hidalgo

doi:10.3390/antibiotics10121548

Libardo Suárez, Andrés Pereira + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10121548

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Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is an important etiological agent that causes skin infections, and has the propensity to form biofilms, leading to significant mortality and morbidity in patients with wounds. Mucus secretion from the Giant African snail Achatina fulica is a potential source of biologically active substances that might be an important source for new drugs to treat resistant and biofilm-forming bacteria such as S. aureus. This study evaluated the effect of semi-purified fractions from the mucus secretion of A. fulica on the growth, biofilm formation and virulence factors of S. aureus. Two fractions: FMA30 (Mw >30 kDa) and FME30 (Mw 30−10 kDa) exhibited antimicrobial activity against S. aureus with a MIC50 of 25 and 125 µg/mL, respectively. An inhibition of biofilm formation higher than 80% was observed at 9 µg/mL with FMA30 and 120 µg/mL with FME30. Furthermore, inhibition of hemolytic and protease activity was determined using a concentration of MIC20, and FME30 showed a strong inhibitory effect in the formation of clots. We report for the first time the effect of semi-purified fractions of mucus secretion of A. fulica on biofilm formation and activity of virulence factors such as α-hemolysin, coagulase and proteases produced by S. aureus strains.

Highlights

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen and a leading cause of skin infections, as well as an important cause of pneumonia and bacteremia in both healthcare and community settings [1]
Mucus secretion from the Giant African snail Achatina fulica is a potential source of biologically active substances that might lead to the discovery of new drugs to treat resistant bacteria such as MRSA [9]
We found that fractions isolated from mucus secretion had an inhibitory effect on the biofilm formation of both S. aureus strains at concentrations below the MIC50

Summary

Introduction

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen and a leading cause of skin infections, as well as an important cause of pneumonia and bacteremia in both healthcare and community settings [1]. The first methicillin-resistant strain of S. aureus was reported in 1960 and developed over time resistance to different antibiotics such as linezolid, daptomycin and glycopeptides [3]. For this reason, in 2017 the World Health Organization (WHO) included this microorganism in the “Global priority list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to guide research, discovery, and development of new antibiotics” [4]. Mucus secretion from the Giant African snail Achatina fulica is a potential source of biologically active substances that might lead to the discovery of new drugs to treat resistant bacteria such as MRSA [9]. Phylum Mollusca, among other invertebrates, are a large reservoir for pharmacologically active compounds present in hemolymph and mucus secretions [6,7]

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Discussion

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