Combinação da terapia fotodinâmica a peptídeos antimicrobianos: efeitos e mecanismos
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Data
2018-08-23
Autores
Freitas, Laura Marise de [UNESP]
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Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Resumo
Nos últimos anos, a Organização Mundial da Saúde vem alertando que a era pós-antibióticos é uma ameaça cada vez mais real. Além da resistência individual das células bacterianas, essas podem se tornar ainda mais tolerantes aos agentes antimicrobianos ao crescerem em biofilmes. A maior tolerância aos antibióticos observada nos biofilmes baseia-se principalmente na proteção das bactérias pela matriz polimérica extracelular autoproduzida, e nos diversos fenótipos de crescimento encontrados na estrutura, que podem ser refratários à ação os fármacos convencionais. Nesse cenário de crescente e disseminada resistência a antimicrobianos, a busca por novos fármacos e terapias alternativas se tornou crucial, especialmente aqueles que sejam capazes de eliminar os microrganismos resistentes, impedir o desenvolvimento de novas formas de resistência, e serem ativos contra biofilmes. A terapia fotodinâmica antimicrobiana (aPDT, do inglês antimicrobial photodynamic therapy) e os peptídeos antimicrobianos (PAM) ganham destaque nesse contexto, em especial para o tratamento de infecções localizadas. Entretanto, ambas as abordagens apresentam limitações terapêuticas quando empregadas individualmente. Dessa forma, este trabalho teve por objetivo estudar os efeitos e mecanismos da combinação dos PAMs aureína 1.2 (AU) e seu dímero (AU)2K com a aPDT mediada pelos fotossensibilizadores (FS) azul de metileno (AM), clorina-e6 (Ce6) ou curcumina (CUR), usando como modelo a bactéria Enterococcus faecalis, em fase planctônica e biofilme. O dímero (AU)2K não apresentou atividade antibacteriana em fase planctônica, sendo a parte inicial do estudo conduzida, então, apenas com o monômero. Os resultados mostram que a combinação da aPDT com AU se provou capaz de eliminar E. faecalis, in vitro, com baixas concentrações de FS e peptídeo e menores doses de luz, em comparação às monoterapias. O efeito sinérgico foi observado apenas quando a AU foi associada à aPDT mediada por AM ou Ce6, não sendo encontrada vantagem na terapia combinada quando o FS era CUR, revelando um mecanismo dependente do FS. O efeito sinérgico entre AU e AM-PDT foi resultado de uma maior penetração do FS na bactéria em presença do peptídeo, ao passo que o efeito sinérgico entre AU e Ce6-PDT se deu por uma interação entre as moléculas que levou a uma maior instabilidade da membrana plasmática. O tratamento combinado também foi eficaz contra diferentes cepas, incluindo a eliminação completa de uma cepa de Enterococcus faecium resistente à vancomicina, um resultado sem precedentes. O protocolo de terapia combinada foi testado quanto à sua capacidade de inibir a formação de biofilme de E. faecalis. Embora não apresente atividade contra bactérias em fase planctônica, o dímero (AU)2K foi incluído nos estudos com biofilmes, mostrando alta capacidade de impedir a fase inicial do desenvolvimento dos biofilmes, tanto sozinho quanto combinado à aPDT. O monômero (AU) também apresentou atividade significativa para impedir que E. faecalis forme biofilme, particularmente quando combinado à Ce6-PDT. Outras espécies bacterianas também foram avaliadas, sendo os protocolos de combinação capazes de impedir a formação de biofilme por todas elas de forma significativa. Tomados em conjunto, os resultados obtidos neste estudo revelam que a combinação de aPDT com um PAM pode provocar a morte bacteriana com concentrações mínimas de FS e PAM e baixas doses de luz, o que, por sua vez, minimizaria os efeitos adversos no tecido do hospedeiro. Além disso, a capacidade de inibir a formação de biofilme por parte dessa abordagem demonstra seu potencial para impedir o estabelecimento de infecções crônicas, fortemente relacionadas a biofilmes microbianos. Essa abordagem sinérgica tem o potencial de eliminar infecções localizadas e, ao mesmo tempo, minimizar o uso de antimicrobianos sistêmicos e impedir o desenvolvimento de novos perfis de resistência.
In the past few years, the World Health Organization has been warning that the post-antibiotic era is an increasingly real threat. In addition to the individual resistance of bacterial cells, they may be even more tolerant to antimicrobial agents by growing in biofilms. The higher tolerance to antibiotics observed in biofilms is mainly based on the protection of bacteria by the self-produced extracellular polymeric matrix, and in the various growth phenotypes found in the structure, which may be refractory to the action of conventional drugs. In this scenario of increasing and widespread antimicrobial resistance, the search for new drugs and alternative therapies has become crucial, especially for those that are capable of eliminating resistant microorganisms, preventing the development of new forms of resistance, and are active against biofilms. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) and antimicrobial peptides (AMP) are highlighted in this context, especially for the treatment of localized infections. However, both approaches have therapeutic limitations when used individually. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects and mechanisms of the combination of the AMPs aurein 1.2 (AU) and its dimer (AU)2K with aPDT mediated by the photosensitizers (PS) methylene blue (MB), chlorine-e6 (Ce6) or curcumin CUR), using the bacteria Enterococcus faecalis as a model, in planktonic phase and biofilm. The dimer (AU)2K did not present antibacterial activity in planktonic phase, so the initial part of the study was conducted only with the monomer. The results show that the combination of aPDT with AU proved to be able to eliminate E. faecalis, in vitro, with low concentrations of PS and peptide and lower light doses, compared to the monotherapies. The synergistic effect was observed only when AU was associated with MB or Ce6-mediated aPDT, and no advantage was found in the combination therapy when the PS was CUR, revealing a PS-dependent mechanism. The synergistic effect between AU and MB-PDT was a result of a greater penetration of the PS in the bacterium in the presence of the peptide, whereas the synergistic effect between AU and Ce6-PDT was due to an interaction between the molecules that led to greater instability of the plasmatic membrane. The combination treatment was also effective against different strains, including a complete elimination of a strain of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, an unprecedented result. The combination therapy protocol was tested for its ability to inhibit E. faecalis biofilm formation. Although it did not present activity against planktonic bacteria, the (AU)2K dimer was included in the biofilm studies, showing high capacity to prevent the initial phase of biofilm development, both alone and combined with aPDT. The monomer AU also showed significant activity to prevent E. faecalis from forming biofilm, particularly when combined with Ce6-PDT. Other bacterial species were also evaluated, and the combination protocols were able to prevent biofilm formation by all of them in a significant way. Taken together, the results obtained in this study reveal that the combination of aPDT with an AMP can lead to bacterial death with minimal concentrations of PS and AMP and low light doses, which in turn would minimize adverse effects on host tissue. In addition, the ability of this approach in inhibiting the formation of biofilms reveals its potential to prevent the establishment of chronic infections, strongly related to microbial biofilms. This synergistic approach has the potential to resolve localized infections while minimizing the use of systemic antimicrobials and preventing the development of new resistance profiles.
In the past few years, the World Health Organization has been warning that the post-antibiotic era is an increasingly real threat. In addition to the individual resistance of bacterial cells, they may be even more tolerant to antimicrobial agents by growing in biofilms. The higher tolerance to antibiotics observed in biofilms is mainly based on the protection of bacteria by the self-produced extracellular polymeric matrix, and in the various growth phenotypes found in the structure, which may be refractory to the action of conventional drugs. In this scenario of increasing and widespread antimicrobial resistance, the search for new drugs and alternative therapies has become crucial, especially for those that are capable of eliminating resistant microorganisms, preventing the development of new forms of resistance, and are active against biofilms. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) and antimicrobial peptides (AMP) are highlighted in this context, especially for the treatment of localized infections. However, both approaches have therapeutic limitations when used individually. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects and mechanisms of the combination of the AMPs aurein 1.2 (AU) and its dimer (AU)2K with aPDT mediated by the photosensitizers (PS) methylene blue (MB), chlorine-e6 (Ce6) or curcumin CUR), using the bacteria Enterococcus faecalis as a model, in planktonic phase and biofilm. The dimer (AU)2K did not present antibacterial activity in planktonic phase, so the initial part of the study was conducted only with the monomer. The results show that the combination of aPDT with AU proved to be able to eliminate E. faecalis, in vitro, with low concentrations of PS and peptide and lower light doses, compared to the monotherapies. The synergistic effect was observed only when AU was associated with MB or Ce6-mediated aPDT, and no advantage was found in the combination therapy when the PS was CUR, revealing a PS-dependent mechanism. The synergistic effect between AU and MB-PDT was a result of a greater penetration of the PS in the bacterium in the presence of the peptide, whereas the synergistic effect between AU and Ce6-PDT was due to an interaction between the molecules that led to greater instability of the plasmatic membrane. The combination treatment was also effective against different strains, including a complete elimination of a strain of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, an unprecedented result. The combination therapy protocol was tested for its ability to inhibit E. faecalis biofilm formation. Although it did not present activity against planktonic bacteria, the (AU)2K dimer was included in the biofilm studies, showing high capacity to prevent the initial phase of biofilm development, both alone and combined with aPDT. The monomer AU also showed significant activity to prevent E. faecalis from forming biofilm, particularly when combined with Ce6-PDT. Other bacterial species were also evaluated, and the combination protocols were able to prevent biofilm formation by all of them in a significant way. Taken together, the results obtained in this study reveal that the combination of aPDT with an AMP can lead to bacterial death with minimal concentrations of PS and AMP and low light doses, which in turn would minimize adverse effects on host tissue. In addition, the ability of this approach in inhibiting the formation of biofilms reveals its potential to prevent the establishment of chronic infections, strongly related to microbial biofilms. This synergistic approach has the potential to resolve localized infections while minimizing the use of systemic antimicrobials and preventing the development of new resistance profiles.
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Palavras-chave
terapia fotodinâmica, peptídeos antimicrobianos, terapia combinada, azul de metileno, clorina-e6, curcumina, Enterococcus faecalis, photodynamic therapy, antimicrobial peptides, combination therapy, methylene blue, chlorin-e6, curcumin, Enterococcus faecalis