Synergistic antibacterial combination of Sapindoside A and B changes the fatty acid compositions and membrane properties of Cutibacterium acnes

Min-Ping Wei; Hang Yu; Ya-Hui Guo; Yu-Liang Cheng; Yun-Fei Xie; Wei-Rong Yao

doi:10.1016/j.micres.2021.126924

Synergistic antibacterial combination of Sapindoside A and B changes the fatty acid compositions and membrane properties of Cutibacterium acnes

Microbiol Res. 2021 Nov 19:255:126924. doi: 10.1016/j.micres.2021.126924. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Min-Ping Wei¹, Hang Yu¹, Ya-Hui Guo¹, Yu-Liang Cheng¹, Yun-Fei Xie¹, Wei-Rong Yao²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, Jiangnan University, No. 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, Jiangnan University, No. 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: yaoweirongcn@jiangnan.edu.cn.

PMID: 34837782
DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2021.126924

Abstract

Sapindus saponins extracted from S. mukorossi have been reported to exert antibacterial activities against skin pathogenic bacteria, but their antibacterial mechanism is still at an exploratory stage. The objective of this study was to explore the synergistic antibacterial mechanism of the combination of two Sapindus saponins, namely Sapindoside A and B (S_AB) against Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) 6919 via targeting the fatty acid compositions and membrane properties. After exposure to S_AB, C. acnes cells increased the cell surface hydrophobicity and reduced the cell membrane fluidity by changing the composition of membrane fatty acids. In the fatty acid compositions, the content of two main fatty acids 12-methyl-tetradecanoic acid (isoC15:0) and octadecanoic acid (C18:0) reduced and improved respectively with the addition of S_AB, and fatty acid biosynthesis-related genes were significantly down-regulated (p < 0.05). Further, molecular docking demonstrated that S_AB interacted with FabD, which is an essential enzyme for bacterial type II fatty acid synthesis, via hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. In the above results, the contribution of S_A to S_AB was greater than that of S_B. In summary, the results revealed that S_AB changed the fatty acid compositions of C. acnes, further disrupting the cell membrane properties, and S_A played a major role, suggesting that S_AB could be a natural antiacne additive against C. acnes-associated infections.

Keywords: Cutibacterium acnes; Fatty acid biosynthesis-associated gene; Membrane fatty acid; Membrane property; Sapindus saponin; Synergistic.