Dendrimer mediated clustering of bacteria: improved aggregation and evaluation of bacterial response and viability

Leire, Emma; Amaral, Sandra P.; Louzao, Iria; Winzer, Klaus; Alexander, Cameron; Fernández-Megía, Eduardo; Fernández-Trillo, Francisco

doi:10.1039/c6bm00079g

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We and others have previously observed that cationic polymers and dendrimers can, under certain conditions, trigger bioluminescence in the marine bacterium V. harveyi , suggesting they may induce or enhance quorum sensing. 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 In a more recent study where we extended this work to the human pathogen V. cholerae , we observed that polymer-mediated clustering led to enhanced deposition of biomass and extracellular DNA, whereas it interfered with the induction of virulence genes in an infection model. 12 Because virulence and biofilm production are both regulated by quorum sensing but are usually both regulated concurrently, the goal of this study was to test whether cationic polymers would trigger quorum sensing in V. cholerae and how this would affect downstream transcription of biofilm genes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Aggregation of Vibrio cholerae by Cationic Polymers Enhances Quorum Sensing but Overrides Biofilm Dissipation in Response to Autoinduction

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterium found in aquatic environments and a human pathogen of global significance. Its transition between host-associated and environmental lifestyles involves the tight regulation of niche-specific phenotypes such as motility, biofilm formation, and virulence. V. cholerae’s transition from the host to environmental dispersal usually involves suppression of virulence and dispersion of biofilm communities. In contrast to this naturally occurring transition, bacterial aggregation by cationic polymers triggers a unique response, which is to suppress virulence gene expression while also triggering biofilm formation by V. cholerae, an artificial combination of traits that is potentially very useful to bind and neutralize the pathogen from contaminated water. Here, we set out to uncover the mechanistic basis of this polymer-triggered bacterial behavior. We found that bacteria–polymer aggregates undergo rapid autoinduction and achieve quorum sensing at bacterial densities far below those required for autoinduction in the absence of polymers. We demonstrate this induction of quorum sensing is due both to a rapid formation of autoinducer gradients and local enhancement of autoinducer concentrations within bacterial clusters as well as the stimulation of CAI-1 and AI-2 production by aggregated bacteria. We further found that polymers cause an induction of the biofilm-specific regulator VpsR and the biofilm structural protein RbmA, bypassing the usual suppression of biofilm during autoinduction. Overall, this study highlights that synthetic materials can be used to cross-wire natural bacterial responses to achieve a combination of phenotypes with potentially useful applications.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Aggregation of Vibrio cholerae by Cationic Polymers Enhances Quorum Sensing but Overrides Biofilm Dissipation in Response to Autoinduction

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Semisynthetic ammonium-terminated gallic acid-triethylene glycol Ds (GATG) developed by Leire et al (2016) have been shown to be able to interact with bacteria, thus attracting researchers as potential multivalent macromolecules for the development of new antimicrobials [ 98 ]. GATG Ds, due to the presence of primary amines in their periphery, were capable of sequestering bacteria cells and to induce the formation of clusters in Vibrio harveyi , an opportunistic marine luminescent pathogen.…”

Section: Cationic Antibacterial Dendrimers (Cads)mentioning

confidence: 99%

From Nanobiotechnology, Positively Charged Biomimetic Dendrimers as Novel Antibacterial Agents: A Review

Alfei

Schito

2020

Nanomaterials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The alarming increase in antimicrobial resistance, based on the built-in abilities of bacteria to nullify the activity of current antibiotics, leaves a growing number of bacterial infections untreatable. An appealing approach, advanced in recent decades, concerns the development of novel agents able to interact with the external layers of bacteria, causing irreparable damage. Regarding this, some natural cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) have been reconsidered, and synthetic cationic polymers, mimicking CAMPs and able to kill bacteria by non-specific detrimental interaction with the negative bacterial membranes, have been proposed as promising solutions. Lately, also dendrimers were considered suitable macromolecules for the preparation of more advanced cationic biomimetic nanoparticles, able to harmonize the typical properties of dendrimers, including nanosize, mono-dispersion, long-term stability, high functionality, and the non-specific mechanism of action of CAMPs. Although cationic dendrimers are extensively applied in nanomedicine for drug or gene delivery, their application as antimicrobial agents is still in its infancy. The state of the art of their potential applications in this important field has therefore been reviewed here, with particular attention to the innovative case studies in the literature including also amino acid-modified polyester-based dendrimers, practically unexplored as membrane-active antimicrobials and able to kill bacteria on contact.

show abstract

“…Finally, it would be of interest to evaluate the effects of functionality, charge, polymer/nanoparticle size and architecture systematically in bacterial recognition, biofilm penetration and therapeutic delivery. [46][47][48][49] It is well-established that natural nanoparticulates such as viruses can penetrate through many biological barriers, and biomimicry of bacteriophage structural features might in future allow development of highly active synthetic NPs which exhibit functional mimicry and anti-bacterial action also.…”

Section: D Skin Infection Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual bioresponsive antibiotic and quorum sensing inhibitor combination nanoparticles for treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms in vitro and ex vivo

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Dendrimer mediated clustering of bacteria: improved aggregation and evaluation of bacterial response and viability

Cited by 20 publications

References 41 publications

Aggregation of Vibrio cholerae by Cationic Polymers Enhances Quorum Sensing but Overrides Biofilm Dissipation in Response to Autoinduction

Aggregation of Vibrio cholerae by Cationic Polymers Enhances Quorum Sensing but Overrides Biofilm Dissipation in Response to Autoinduction

From Nanobiotechnology, Positively Charged Biomimetic Dendrimers as Novel Antibacterial Agents: A Review

Dual bioresponsive antibiotic and quorum sensing inhibitor combination nanoparticles for treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms in vitro and ex vivo

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About