Infection and Drug Resistance (Sep 2019)
Potential role of the antimicrobial peptide Tachyplesin III against multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii coinfection in an animal model
Abstract
Jialong Qi,1 Ruiyu Gao,1 Cunbao Liu,1 Bin Shan,2 Fulan Gao,1 Jinrong He,1 Mingcui Yuan,1 Hanghang Xie,1 Shumei Jin,3 Yanbing Ma1 1Department of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Clinical Lab, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, People’s Republic of China; 3Yunnan Institute of Materia Medica, Kunming, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yanbing MaInstitute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, NO935#, Jiaoling Road, Kunming, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 6 833 9287Email [email protected]: Tachyplesin III, an antimicrobial peptide (AMP), provides protection against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections and shows cytotoxicity to mammalian cells. Mixed bacterial infections, of which P. aeruginosa plus A. baumannii is the most common and dangerous combination, are critical contributors to the morbidity and mortality of long-term in-hospital respiratory medicine patients. Therefore, the development of effective therapeutic approaches to mixed bacterial infections is urgently needed.Methods and results: In this study, we demonstrated that compared with individual infections, mixed infections with MDR bacteria P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii cause more serious diseases, with increased pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α) and chemokines (MCP-1/MIP-2) and reduced mouse survival. In vitro treatment with Tachyplesin III enhanced phagocytosis in a mouse alveolar macrophage cell line (MH-S). Strikingly, in vivo, Tachyplesin III demonstrated a potential role against mixed-MDR bacterial coinfection. The bacterial burden in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was significantly reduced in the Tachyplesin III-treated group. In addition, a systemic reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines and decreased lung injury occurred with Tachyplesin III therapy.Conclusion: Therefore, our study demonstrated that Tachyplesin III represents a potential therapeutic treatment against mixed-MDR bacterial infection in vivo, which sheds light on the development of therapeutic strategies against mixed-MDR bacterial infections.Keywords: Tachyplesin III, antimicrobial peptides, multidrug-resistant bacterial, coinfection, phagocytosis
