Bacteriocin KvarM versus conventional antibiotics: comparative effectiveness in treating Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in murine intestinal models

IntroductionThe rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant bacterial species poses a critical threat by reducing the efficacy of antibiotics and complicating infection treatment. Bacteriocins, such as klebicin KvarM, have emerged as promising alternatives to traditional antibiotics due to their targeted...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Indre Karaliute, Deimante Tilinde, Rima Ramonaite, Rokas Lukosevicius, Darja Nikitina, Jurga Bernatoniene, Irma Kuliaviene, Irena Valantiene, Dalius Petrauskas, Vilma Zigmantaite, Audrius Misiunas, Erna Denkovskiene, Ausra Razanskiene, Yuri Gleba, Juozas Kupcinskas, Jurgita Skieceviciene
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1559865/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850059892359954432
author Indre Karaliute
Deimante Tilinde
Rima Ramonaite
Rokas Lukosevicius
Darja Nikitina
Jurga Bernatoniene
Irma Kuliaviene
Irena Valantiene
Dalius Petrauskas
Vilma Zigmantaite
Vilma Zigmantaite
Audrius Misiunas
Erna Denkovskiene
Ausra Razanskiene
Yuri Gleba
Juozas Kupcinskas
Juozas Kupcinskas
Jurgita Skieceviciene
author_facet Indre Karaliute
Deimante Tilinde
Rima Ramonaite
Rokas Lukosevicius
Darja Nikitina
Jurga Bernatoniene
Irma Kuliaviene
Irena Valantiene
Dalius Petrauskas
Vilma Zigmantaite
Vilma Zigmantaite
Audrius Misiunas
Erna Denkovskiene
Ausra Razanskiene
Yuri Gleba
Juozas Kupcinskas
Juozas Kupcinskas
Jurgita Skieceviciene
author_sort Indre Karaliute
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThe rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant bacterial species poses a critical threat by reducing the efficacy of antibiotics and complicating infection treatment. Bacteriocins, such as klebicin KvarM, have emerged as promising alternatives to traditional antibiotics due to their targeted antimicrobial activity. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of Eudragit-coated klebicin KvarM in a mouse model of Klebsiella pneumoniae intestinal colonization, assessing both its antimicrobial effectiveness and impact on commensal gut microbiota.MethodsAntimicrobial activity of KvarM in comparison to conventional antibiotic therapy with ciprofloxacin was tested in murine models for K. pneumoniae gastrointestinal (GI) tract infection. The haemolysin gene (khe) was chosen as the qualitative marker for Klebsiella genus identification, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of V1-V2 hypervariable region was performed for analyses of gut microbiota.ResultsOur results demonstrated that KvarM was highly effective in reducing K. pneumoniae colonization, showing the same efficacy as ciprofloxacin. Following K. pneumoniae inoculation, administration of KvarM resulted in a significant reduction in bacterial load indicating a 99% effectiveness. Furthermore, microbiome analysis of the gut microbiota revealed that KvarM therapy showed no significant changes in microbial composition compared with commensal microbiota composition, whereas administration of ciprofloxacin led to a significant decrease in microbial diversity.DiscussionThese findings demonstrate that klebicin KvarM therapy is highly effective for treating intestinal K. pneumoniae infections and it does not affect the integrity of the gut microbiota.
format Article
id doaj-art-eec701312fa44935bba758b4dd4663c0
institution DOAJ
issn 2235-2988
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
spelling doaj-art-eec701312fa44935bba758b4dd4663c02025-08-20T02:50:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology2235-29882025-03-011510.3389/fcimb.2025.15598651559865Bacteriocin KvarM versus conventional antibiotics: comparative effectiveness in treating Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in murine intestinal modelsIndre Karaliute0Deimante Tilinde1Rima Ramonaite2Rokas Lukosevicius3Darja Nikitina4Jurga Bernatoniene5Irma Kuliaviene6Irena Valantiene7Dalius Petrauskas8Vilma Zigmantaite9Vilma Zigmantaite10Audrius Misiunas11Erna Denkovskiene12Ausra Razanskiene13Yuri Gleba14Juozas Kupcinskas15Juozas Kupcinskas16Jurgita Skieceviciene17Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaInstitute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaInstitute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaInstitute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaInstitute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Drug Technology and Social Pharmacy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaBiological Research Center, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaInstitute of Cardiology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaNomads UAB, Vilnius, LithuaniaNomads UAB, Vilnius, LithuaniaNomads UAB, Vilnius, LithuaniaNomad Bioscience GmbH, Biozentrum Halle, Halle (Saale), GermanyInstitute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaInstitute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, LithuaniaIntroductionThe rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant bacterial species poses a critical threat by reducing the efficacy of antibiotics and complicating infection treatment. Bacteriocins, such as klebicin KvarM, have emerged as promising alternatives to traditional antibiotics due to their targeted antimicrobial activity. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of Eudragit-coated klebicin KvarM in a mouse model of Klebsiella pneumoniae intestinal colonization, assessing both its antimicrobial effectiveness and impact on commensal gut microbiota.MethodsAntimicrobial activity of KvarM in comparison to conventional antibiotic therapy with ciprofloxacin was tested in murine models for K. pneumoniae gastrointestinal (GI) tract infection. The haemolysin gene (khe) was chosen as the qualitative marker for Klebsiella genus identification, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of V1-V2 hypervariable region was performed for analyses of gut microbiota.ResultsOur results demonstrated that KvarM was highly effective in reducing K. pneumoniae colonization, showing the same efficacy as ciprofloxacin. Following K. pneumoniae inoculation, administration of KvarM resulted in a significant reduction in bacterial load indicating a 99% effectiveness. Furthermore, microbiome analysis of the gut microbiota revealed that KvarM therapy showed no significant changes in microbial composition compared with commensal microbiota composition, whereas administration of ciprofloxacin led to a significant decrease in microbial diversity.DiscussionThese findings demonstrate that klebicin KvarM therapy is highly effective for treating intestinal K. pneumoniae infections and it does not affect the integrity of the gut microbiota.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1559865/fullKlebsiella pneumoniaebacteriocinklebicinmicrobiomemurine models
spellingShingle Indre Karaliute
Deimante Tilinde
Rima Ramonaite
Rokas Lukosevicius
Darja Nikitina
Jurga Bernatoniene
Irma Kuliaviene
Irena Valantiene
Dalius Petrauskas
Vilma Zigmantaite
Vilma Zigmantaite
Audrius Misiunas
Erna Denkovskiene
Ausra Razanskiene
Yuri Gleba
Juozas Kupcinskas
Juozas Kupcinskas
Jurgita Skieceviciene
Bacteriocin KvarM versus conventional antibiotics: comparative effectiveness in treating Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in murine intestinal models
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
Klebsiella pneumoniae
bacteriocin
klebicin
microbiome
murine models
title Bacteriocin KvarM versus conventional antibiotics: comparative effectiveness in treating Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in murine intestinal models
title_full Bacteriocin KvarM versus conventional antibiotics: comparative effectiveness in treating Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in murine intestinal models
title_fullStr Bacteriocin KvarM versus conventional antibiotics: comparative effectiveness in treating Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in murine intestinal models
title_full_unstemmed Bacteriocin KvarM versus conventional antibiotics: comparative effectiveness in treating Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in murine intestinal models
title_short Bacteriocin KvarM versus conventional antibiotics: comparative effectiveness in treating Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in murine intestinal models
title_sort bacteriocin kvarm versus conventional antibiotics comparative effectiveness in treating klebsiella pneumoniae infections in murine intestinal models
topic Klebsiella pneumoniae
bacteriocin
klebicin
microbiome
murine models
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1559865/full
work_keys_str_mv AT indrekaraliute bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT deimantetilinde bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT rimaramonaite bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT rokaslukosevicius bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT darjanikitina bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT jurgabernatoniene bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT irmakuliaviene bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT irenavalantiene bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT daliuspetrauskas bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT vilmazigmantaite bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT vilmazigmantaite bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT audriusmisiunas bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT ernadenkovskiene bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT ausrarazanskiene bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT yurigleba bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT juozaskupcinskas bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT juozaskupcinskas bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels
AT jurgitaskieceviciene bacteriocinkvarmversusconventionalantibioticscomparativeeffectivenessintreatingklebsiellapneumoniaeinfectionsinmurineintestinalmodels