Antimicrobial peptide temporin derivatives inhibit biofilm formation and virulence factor expression of Streptococcus mutans

Shangjun Jiang; Yanmei Zha; Ting Zhao; Xiao Jin; Ruiying Zhu; Shuangshuang Wei; Rong Wang; Yanting Song; Lushuang Li; Junchen Lyu; Wenting Hu; Daqi Zhang; Manchuriga Wang; Yingxia Zhang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1267389

Antimicrobial peptide temporin derivatives inhibit biofilm formation and virulence factor expression of Streptococcus mutans

Front Microbiol. 2023 Sep 26:14:1267389. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1267389. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center of One Health, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
² College of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
³ School of Science, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
⁴ Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.
⁵ School of Animal Science and Technology, Hainan University, Haikou, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Temporin-GHa obtained from the frog Hylarana guentheri showed bactericidal efficacy against Streptococcus mutans. To enhance its antibacterial activity, the derived peptides GHaR and GHa11R were designed, and their antibacterial performance, antibiofilm efficacy and potential in the inhibition of dental caries were evaluated.

Methods: Bacterial survival assay, fluorescent staining assay and transmission electron microscopy observation were applied to explore how the peptides inhibited and killed S. mutans. The antibiofilm efficacy was assayed by examining exopolysaccharide (EPS) and lactic acid production, bacterial adhesion and cell surface hydrophobicity. The gene expression level of virulence factors of S. mutans was detected by qRT-PCR. Finally, the impact of the peptides on the caries induced ability of S. mutans was measured using a rat caries model.

Results: It has been shown that the peptides inhibited biofilm rapid accumulation by weakening the initial adhesion of S. mutans and reducing the production of EPS. Meanwhile, they also decreased bacterial acidogenicity and aciduricity, and ultimately prevented caries development in vivo.

Conclusion: GHaR and GHa11R might be promising candidates for controlling S. mutans infections.

Keywords: Streptococcus mutans; anti-caries; antibiofilm; antimicrobial peptides; temporin.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Hainan Science and Technology Project under Grant ZDYF2021SHFZ042, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 32060130 and 82104129, the Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province under Grant 820MS140, and the Foundation of Collaborative Innovation Center of One Health of Hainan University under Grant XTCX2022JKB05.