Black sea cucumber (Holothuria atra Jaeger, 1833) rescues Pseudomonas aeruginosa-infected Caenorhabditis elegans via reduction of pathogen virulence factors and enhancement of host immunity

Food Funct. 2019 Sep 1;10(9):5759-5767. doi: 10.1039/c9fo01357a. Epub 2019 Aug 27.

Abstract

A strategy to circumvent the problem of multidrug resistant pathogens is the discovery of anti-infectives targeting bacterial virulence or host immunity. Black sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) is a tropical sea cucumber species traditionally consumed as a remedy for many ailments. There is a paucity of knowledge on the anti-infective capacity of H. atra and the underlying mechanisms involved. The objective of this study is to utilize the Caenorhabditis elegans-P. aeruginosa infection model to elucidate the anti-infective properties of H. atra. A bioactive H. atra extract and subsequently its fraction were shown to have the capability of promoting the survival of C. elegans during a customarily lethal P. aeruginosa infection. The same entities also attenuate the production of elastase, protease, pyocyanin and biofilm in P. aeruginosa. The treatment of infected transgenic lys-7::GFP worms with this H. atra fraction restores the repressed expression of the defense enzyme lys-7, indicating an improved host immunity. QTOF-LCMS analysis revealed the presence of aspidospermatidine, an indole alkaloid, and inosine in this fraction. Collectively, our findings show that H. atra possesses anti-infective properties against P. aeruginosa infection, by inhibiting pathogen virulence and, eventually, reinstating host lys-7 expression.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Infective Agents / chemistry
  • Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / drug effects
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / immunology
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / microbiology*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / drug effects
  • Holothuria / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Indole Alkaloids / chemistry
  • Indole Alkaloids / pharmacology
  • Male
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / genetics
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / physiology
  • Quinolines / chemistry
  • Quinolines / pharmacology
  • Virulence Factors / genetics*
  • Virulence Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Indole Alkaloids
  • Quinolines
  • Virulence Factors
  • aspidospermidine