Induction Of Antibacterial Activity Research Articles

Induction of antibacterial activity in larvae of the blowflyLucilia sericataby an infected environment

Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) is a method for the treatment of intractable, infected and necrotic wounds. In MDT, sterile larvae of Lucilia sericata Meigen (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are applied to infected wounds, where they exert antibacterial effects. Once the larvae are placed in the wound, they are no longer germ-free. This study analysed the influence of infected environments on larval antibacterial activities. Sterile larvae were mixed in a test tube containing a bacterial suspension of Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa, transferred to liver puree agar, and incubated at 25 °C for set periods. To collect the larval extracts, the incubated larvae were transferred to a test tube containing phosphate buffered saline (PBS), cut into multiple pieces with scissors, and centrifuged. The supernatant was used to test antibacterial activities. The results showed that infected larvae had better antibacterial capacities than sterile larvae. Antibacterial activities were induced by pretreatment with a single bacterial species, S. aureus or P. aeruginosa, within 24 h and 12 h, respectively, and disappeared after 36 h. The activities were effective against S. aureus, but not against P. aeruginosa. This natural infection model is very similar to the clinical wound context in MDT and will be a powerful tool with which to study the antibacterial activities of L. sericata larvae in MDT.

Induction of antibacterial activity in the haemolymph of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, by injection of formalin-treated Escherichia coli K-12 in the anterior and posterior body part of the ligated larvae

1. 1. Induction of antibacterial activity was investigated in the ligated fifth instar larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, by injection of formalin-treated Escherichia coli K-12 into the haemocoel in the anterior and in the posterior body part, followed by activity determination by inhibition zone assay of the haemolymph at 12 and 24 hr after immunization. 2. 2. At 12 hr after immunization, high antibacterial activity, approximately 6.8–7.5 mm in the anterior body part and 4.5–6.4 mm in the posterior body part in diameter of a clear zone (2.0 mm for no activity) was detectable in day 3 larvae. This result was in good contrast to expression of lectin gene in the ligated flesh fly, Sarcophaga peregrena (Shiraishi and Natori, 1988, FEBS Lett. 232, 163–166), in which only the anterior part of insect responded to stimulus of injury. 3. 3. Antibacterial activity at 24 hr after immunization in days 3 or 4 ligated larvae was lower than that at 12 hr; 4.0–4.5 mm of activity was observed in the anterior body part, and no activity was observed in day 3 ligated larvae in the posterior body part. 4. 4. Acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the haemolymph of immunized insects followed by overlay assay showed that the size of antibacterial activity bands were similar between the haemolymph from 12 hr and from 24 hr, and between the anterior and the posterior body part. This result was contradictory to the observation of activity by inhibition zone assay. The activity bands were associated with peptides that were similar to cecropin-like peptides A and B in the silkworm. 5. 5. These results indicate that in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, antibacterial peptides are induced both in the anterior and in the posterior body part of the ligated larvae. The results also suggest that some now unknown substance inhibiting antibacterial activity in inhibition zone assay appers preferentially in the posterior body part of the ligated larvae at 24 hr after immunization.

Insect immunity: Induction of cecropin and attacin-like antibacterial factors in the haemolymph of Glossina morsitans morsitans

Injections of live Escherichia coli into adult tsetse flies, Glossina morsitans morsitans induced an antibacterial activity in the haemolymph after a lag period of 6–18 hr. Peak activity occurred after 24–72 hr with a dose of 10 4 bacteria/fly. Acidic electrophoresis of immune haemolymph from G. m. morsitans followed by an antibacterial assay on the gel revealed the presence of cecropin- and attacin-like factors. The induction of antibacterial activity in tsetse was completely blocked by injection of cycloheximide, a known inhibitor of protein synthesis in eukaryotic organisms. Purified InA from Bacillus thuringiensis, a proteolytic enzyme with specificity for cecropins and attacins in haemolymph, inactivated the antibacterial activity in tesetse immune haemolymph. When tested against 10 different bacterial species, the spectrum was the same for the antibacterial activity in immune haemolymph from tsetse and Cecropia.

Induction of antibacterial activity in the blood of the migratory locust Locusta migratoria L.

Injections of low doses of living cells of Bacillus thuringiensis into larvae or adults of Locusta migratoria (Orthoptera) induce an in vivo protection against lethal doses of this pathogen (‘immunisation’). In the present paper we show that concomitant with the induction of the in vivo protection, an antibacterial activity appears in the plasma of the immunised insects. This activity is maintained for 10 days and disappears at the time the protective mechanism loses its efficiency. Antibacterial activity in the plasma of experimental insects is induced by injections of bacteria other than B. thuringiensis (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and non-bacterial substances (ovalbumine, iron saccharate): it reduces growth of cultures of B. thuringiensis and also of E. coli or P. aeruginosa under in vitro conditions. Repeated immunising injections increase the level of plasma antibacterial activity. Preliminary biochemical studies indicate that the antibacterial activity is linked to the presence in the plasma of a low molecular weight (<5000 daltons), heat-stable, polar bacteriostatic compound which is not inactivated by use of conventional proteolytic or glycolytic enzymes.