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  2. The antiviral drug efavirenz reduces biofilm formation and hemolysis by Staphylococcus aureus

The antiviral drug efavirenz reduces biofilm formation and hemolysis by Staphylococcus aureus

  • J Med Microbiol. 2021 Oct;70(10). doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.001433.
Hongyan Wang 1 2 Yiyi Shi 1 2 Junwen Chen 1 2 Yu Wang 1 2 Zhanwen Wang 1 2 Zhijian Yu 1 2 3 Jinxin Zheng 1 2 3 Yongpeng Shang 1 2 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Infectious Diseases and the Key Lab of Endogenous Infection, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518052, PR China.
  • 2 Department of Infectious Diseases and the Key Lab of Endogenous Infection, Shenzhen Nanshan People's Hospital and The 6th Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen 518052, PR China.
  • 3 Quality Control Center of Hospital Infection management of Shenzhen, Guang Dong Medical University, Shenzhen, 518052, PR China.
Abstract

Introduction. Biofilm formation and hemolysis are closely related to the pathogenicity of Staphylococcus aureus.Hypothesis/Gap Statement. Strategies that reduce the mortality of S. aureus infections may involve novel antimicrobials and/or drugs that decrease S. aureus virulence, such as biofilm formation. The Antiviral drug efavirenz is a non-nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor, which also has shown Antibacterial effect on Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Its effect on pathogen virulence has not yet been explored.Aim. This study investigates the antimicrobial and anti-virulence effect of efavirenz on S. aureus.Methodology. Biofilm biomasses were detected by crystal violet staining. Hemolysis activities of S. aureus were determined by rabbit erythrocytes lysis assay. RNA levels of transcriptional regulatory genes, biofilm-related genes, and virulence-related genes of S. aureus were determined by RT-qPCR.Results. Efavirenz showed an inhibitory effect on the growth of S. aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus agalactiae at 50 µM. Efavirenz significantly inhibited biofilm formation of both methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) at 25 µM, but did not affect the growth of planktonic S. aureus cells. Moreover, hemolysis by S. aureus was inhibited by efavirenz at 25 µM. The expression levels of RNA transcriptional regulatory genes (agrA, agrC, sigB, saeR and saeS), biofilm-related genes (cidA, clfA, clfB, fnbA, fnbB), and virulence-related genes (hla, hld, staphopain B, alpha-3 PSM, beta PSM, delta PSM) of S. aureus decreased significantly at 25 µM efavirenz.Conclusion. Efavirenz inhibits S. aureus biofilm formation and virulence in vitro.

Keywords

Staphylococcus aureus; biofilm; efavirenz; hemolysis; virulence.

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