In Silico Docking, Resistance Modulation and Biofilm Gene Expression in Multidrug-Resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> via Cinnamic and Gallic Acids
Neveen A. Abdelaziz,
Walid F. Elkhatib,
Mahmoud M. Sherif,
Mohammed A. S. Abourehab,
Sara T. Al-Rashood,
Wagdy M. Eldehna,
Nada M. Mostafa,
Nooran S. Elleboudy
Affiliations
Neveen A. Abdelaziz
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahram Canadian University, Sixth of October City 12451, Egypt
Walid F. Elkhatib
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, African Union Organization St., Abbassia, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Mahmoud M. Sherif
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahram Canadian University, Sixth of October City 12451, Egypt
Mohammed A. S. Abourehab
Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
Sara T. Al-Rashood
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Wagdy M. Eldehna
Department of Chemistry, School of Biotechnology, Badr University in Cairo, Cairo 11829, Egypt
Nada M. Mostafa
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Nooran S. Elleboudy
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, African Union Organization St., Abbassia, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Despite the mounting global burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the generation of new classes of effective antimicrobials still lags far behind. The interplay between multidrug resistance and biofilm formation in Acinetobacter baumannii has drastically narrowed the available therapeutic choices. The use of natural compounds holds promise as an alternate option for restoring the activity of existing antibiotics and attenuating virulence traits through reduced biofilm formation. This study aimed to evaluate the modulatory effect of combining cinnamic and gallic acids at ½MIC with various antibiotics against multidrug-resistant (MDR) A. baumannii clinical isolates as well as study the effect on the expression of the biofilm-associated genes (bap, csuE, ompA) via quantitative, real-time PCR. Combining cinnamic or gallic acid with imipenem, amikacin or doxycycline resulted in significant reduction of resistance (p bap, csuE and ompA genes in A. baumannii, which may permit its use as an adjunct anti-virulence therapeutic strategy.
