Prevention of urinary catheter-associated infections by coating antimicrobial peptides from crowberry endophytes

Sci Rep. 2019 Jul 24;9(1):10753. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-47108-5.

Abstract

Urinary catheters are extensively used in hospitals, being responsible for about 75% of hospital-acquired infections. In this work, a de novo designed antimicrobial peptide (AMP) Chain201D was studied in the context of urinary catheter-associated infections. Chain201D showed excellent antimicrobial activity against relevant ATCC strains and clinical isolates of bacteria and yeast and demonstrated high stability in a wide range of temperatures, pH and salt concentrations. Moreover, the bactericidal activity of Chain201D immobilized on a model surface was studied against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), some of the most prevalent strains found in urinary catheter-associated infections. Chain201D was successfully tethered to ((1-mercapto-11-undecyl)-(tetra(ethylene glycol) (EG4)) terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), (EG4-SAMs), activated by 1,1'-Carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) at different concentrations. Chain201D surfaces can bind and kill by contact a high percentage of adherent bacteria. These achievements are obtained without any peptide modification (for chemoselective conjugation) and without the use of a spacer. Moreover, increased amounts of immobilized AMP lead to higher numbers of adhered/dead bacteria, revealing a concentration-dependent behaviour and demonstrating that Chain201D has excellent potential for developing antimicrobial urinary catheters.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Infective Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / therapeutic use*
  • Catheter-Related Infections / prevention & control*
  • Endophytes / chemistry
  • Ericaceae / chemistry
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / drug effects
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects
  • Urinary Catheterization / adverse effects*
  • Urinary Catheterization / methods
  • Urinary Catheters / adverse effects*
  • Urinary Catheters / microbiology

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides