EDTA enhances antimicrobial activity of PR-39 and Protegrin-1 antimicrobial peptides against carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in serum

  • Folia Microbiol (Praha). 2026 May 28. doi: 10.1007/s12223-026-01521-2.
Lukáš Vacek  1 ,  Antonín Pavelka  2  3 ,  Břetislav Lipový  4  5 ,  Jana Brtníková  5 ,  Petra Straková  2 ,  Edita Jeklová  2 ,  Marko Šefranko  1 ,  Dominika Polaštík Kleknerová  1 ,  Frederik Volný  1 ,  Lubomír Janda  2 ,  Lucy Vojtová  5 ,  Filip Růžička  6
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University and St. Anne's University Hospital, Pekařská 53, Brno, 602 00, Czech Republic.
  • 2. Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, Brno, 621 00, Czech Republic.
  • 3. National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Brno, 625 00, Czech Republic.
  • 4. Department of Burns Medicine, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, University Hospital Královské Vinohrady, Šrobárova 50, Prague, 100 34, Czech Republic.
  • 5. Advanced Biomaterials Group, Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 656/123, Brno, 612 00, Czech Republic.
  • 6. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University and St. Anne's University Hospital, Pekařská 53, Brno, 602 00, Czech Republic. [email protected].
PMID: 42207438 DOI: 10.1007/s12223-026-01521-2
Abstract

Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa represents a frequent and clinically challenging pathogen responsible for both acute and chronic infections. Antimicrobial peptides are emerging as a promising class of novel therapeutic agents due to their broad-spectrum activity, rapid bactericidal activity, and low potential to induce antimicrobial resistance. The antimicrobial efficacy of these peptides can be further enhanced by EDTA. However, their activity is often reduced in the presence of serum, which contains multiple inhibitory components. In this study, EDTA fully restored the antimicrobial activity of PR-39 and Protegrin-1 in serum. Moreover, incorporation of chitosan increased the antimicrobial efficacy of the PR-39/Protegrin-1/EDTA formulation. These findings demonstrate that PR-39, Protegrin-1, EDTA, and chitosan can act synergistically, supporting the feasibility of integrating these components into a unified therapeutic platform.

Keywords
CRPA; Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Chitosan; EDTA; PR-39; Protegrin-1.
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