Selective toxicity of a novel antimicrobial peptide Acidocin 4356 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in human cell-based in vitro infection models

Abstract Prior studies examined Acidocin 4356’s antibacterial and antivirulence effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including cell membrane penetration abilities. Building on prior research, an in-vitro co-culture of human cells was established to evaluate the selectivity of Acidocin (ACD) by co...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mahbubeh Talaee, Sima Modiri, Marzieh Rajabi, Fatemeh Saadati, Ali Akbari, Sahar Javadi, Shuaiqi Guo, Hojatollah Vali, Kambiz Akbari Noghabi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86115-7
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832585694379245568
author Mahbubeh Talaee
Sima Modiri
Marzieh Rajabi
Fatemeh Saadati
Ali Akbari
Sahar Javadi
Shuaiqi Guo
Hojatollah Vali
Kambiz Akbari Noghabi
author_facet Mahbubeh Talaee
Sima Modiri
Marzieh Rajabi
Fatemeh Saadati
Ali Akbari
Sahar Javadi
Shuaiqi Guo
Hojatollah Vali
Kambiz Akbari Noghabi
author_sort Mahbubeh Talaee
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Prior studies examined Acidocin 4356’s antibacterial and antivirulence effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including cell membrane penetration abilities. Building on prior research, an in-vitro co-culture of human cells was established to evaluate the selectivity of Acidocin (ACD) by concurrently cultivating human cells and bacterial pathogens. This study evaluated the antibacterial effectiveness of ACD against Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed significant biofilm dispersion at ACD concentrations as low as 1/2 MIC. The cytotoxicity of ACD was evaluated on two human cell lines, Calu-6 and THP-1, using the MTT assay. The IC50 values were 114 µg/mL and 24 µg/mL after a 12-hour treatment duration. In a co-culture model, the IC50 increased to 118 µg/mL, showing greater resilience of THP-1 cells under these settings, mimicking in-vivo conditions. Fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry analysis confirmed the MTT results, showing ACD’s potent antimicrobial effects and minimal toxicity to human cells, even after 12 h of treatment. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study revealed that normal Calu-6 cells included papillary outgrowths and microvilli, while infected cells displayed secretory vesicles, indicating an active response to P. aeruginosa infection. The present study thus serves as a critical step toward the development of an innovative therapeutic strategy targeting biofilm-associated infections.
format Article
id doaj-art-28d5c00f3e8f44558816576274af39cb
institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-28d5c00f3e8f44558816576274af39cb2025-01-26T12:33:05ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111810.1038/s41598-025-86115-7Selective toxicity of a novel antimicrobial peptide Acidocin 4356 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in human cell-based in vitro infection modelsMahbubeh Talaee0Sima Modiri1Marzieh Rajabi2Fatemeh Saadati3Ali Akbari4Sahar Javadi5Shuaiqi Guo6Hojatollah Vali7Kambiz Akbari Noghabi8Department of Energy & Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB)Department of Energy & Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB)Department of Energy & Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB)Department of Energy & Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB)Department of Energy & Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB)Department of Energy & Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB)Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill UniversityDepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill UniversityDepartment of Energy & Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB)Abstract Prior studies examined Acidocin 4356’s antibacterial and antivirulence effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including cell membrane penetration abilities. Building on prior research, an in-vitro co-culture of human cells was established to evaluate the selectivity of Acidocin (ACD) by concurrently cultivating human cells and bacterial pathogens. This study evaluated the antibacterial effectiveness of ACD against Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed significant biofilm dispersion at ACD concentrations as low as 1/2 MIC. The cytotoxicity of ACD was evaluated on two human cell lines, Calu-6 and THP-1, using the MTT assay. The IC50 values were 114 µg/mL and 24 µg/mL after a 12-hour treatment duration. In a co-culture model, the IC50 increased to 118 µg/mL, showing greater resilience of THP-1 cells under these settings, mimicking in-vivo conditions. Fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry analysis confirmed the MTT results, showing ACD’s potent antimicrobial effects and minimal toxicity to human cells, even after 12 h of treatment. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study revealed that normal Calu-6 cells included papillary outgrowths and microvilli, while infected cells displayed secretory vesicles, indicating an active response to P. aeruginosa infection. The present study thus serves as a critical step toward the development of an innovative therapeutic strategy targeting biofilm-associated infections.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86115-7Acidocin 4356Multidrug-resistant pathogensPseudomonas aeruginosaAcinetobacter baumanniiCytotoxicityCell selectivity
spellingShingle Mahbubeh Talaee
Sima Modiri
Marzieh Rajabi
Fatemeh Saadati
Ali Akbari
Sahar Javadi
Shuaiqi Guo
Hojatollah Vali
Kambiz Akbari Noghabi
Selective toxicity of a novel antimicrobial peptide Acidocin 4356 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in human cell-based in vitro infection models
Scientific Reports
Acidocin 4356
Multidrug-resistant pathogens
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Acinetobacter baumannii
Cytotoxicity
Cell selectivity
title Selective toxicity of a novel antimicrobial peptide Acidocin 4356 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in human cell-based in vitro infection models
title_full Selective toxicity of a novel antimicrobial peptide Acidocin 4356 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in human cell-based in vitro infection models
title_fullStr Selective toxicity of a novel antimicrobial peptide Acidocin 4356 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in human cell-based in vitro infection models
title_full_unstemmed Selective toxicity of a novel antimicrobial peptide Acidocin 4356 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in human cell-based in vitro infection models
title_short Selective toxicity of a novel antimicrobial peptide Acidocin 4356 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in human cell-based in vitro infection models
title_sort selective toxicity of a novel antimicrobial peptide acidocin 4356 against pseudomonas aeruginosa and acinetobacter baumannii in human cell based in vitro infection models
topic Acidocin 4356
Multidrug-resistant pathogens
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Acinetobacter baumannii
Cytotoxicity
Cell selectivity
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86115-7
work_keys_str_mv AT mahbubehtalaee selectivetoxicityofanovelantimicrobialpeptideacidocin4356againstpseudomonasaeruginosaandacinetobacterbaumanniiinhumancellbasedinvitroinfectionmodels
AT simamodiri selectivetoxicityofanovelantimicrobialpeptideacidocin4356againstpseudomonasaeruginosaandacinetobacterbaumanniiinhumancellbasedinvitroinfectionmodels
AT marziehrajabi selectivetoxicityofanovelantimicrobialpeptideacidocin4356againstpseudomonasaeruginosaandacinetobacterbaumanniiinhumancellbasedinvitroinfectionmodels
AT fatemehsaadati selectivetoxicityofanovelantimicrobialpeptideacidocin4356againstpseudomonasaeruginosaandacinetobacterbaumanniiinhumancellbasedinvitroinfectionmodels
AT aliakbari selectivetoxicityofanovelantimicrobialpeptideacidocin4356againstpseudomonasaeruginosaandacinetobacterbaumanniiinhumancellbasedinvitroinfectionmodels
AT saharjavadi selectivetoxicityofanovelantimicrobialpeptideacidocin4356againstpseudomonasaeruginosaandacinetobacterbaumanniiinhumancellbasedinvitroinfectionmodels
AT shuaiqiguo selectivetoxicityofanovelantimicrobialpeptideacidocin4356againstpseudomonasaeruginosaandacinetobacterbaumanniiinhumancellbasedinvitroinfectionmodels
AT hojatollahvali selectivetoxicityofanovelantimicrobialpeptideacidocin4356againstpseudomonasaeruginosaandacinetobacterbaumanniiinhumancellbasedinvitroinfectionmodels
AT kambizakbarinoghabi selectivetoxicityofanovelantimicrobialpeptideacidocin4356againstpseudomonasaeruginosaandacinetobacterbaumanniiinhumancellbasedinvitroinfectionmodels