EGCG-Mediated Potential Inhibition of Biofilm Development and Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), one of the dangerous multidrug resistance pathogens, orchestrates virulence factors production through quorum sensing (QS). Since the exploration of QS inhibitors, targeting virulence to circumvent bacterial pathogenesis without causing significant growth inhibition is a promising approach to treat P. aeruginosa infections. The present study has evaluated the anti-QS and anti-infective activity of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a bioactive ingredient of the traditional green tea, against P. aeruginosa. EGCG showed significant inhibitory effects on the development of biofilm, protease, elastase activity, swimming, and swarming motility, which was positively related to the production of C4-AHL. The expression of QS-related and QS-regulated virulence factors genes was also evaluated. Quantitative PCR analysis showed that EGCG significantly reduced the expression of las, rhl, and PQS genes and was highly correlated with the alterations of C4-AHL production. In-vivo experiments demonstrated that EGCG treatment reduced P. aeruginosa pathogenicity in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). EGCG increased the survival of C. elegans by 23.25%, 30.04%, and 36.35% in a dose-dependent manner. The findings of this study strongly suggest that EGCG could be a potential candidate for QS inhibition as an anti-virulence compound against bacterial infection.

Beneficial Effects of Green Tea EGCG on Skin Wound Healing: A Comprehensive Review

“…EGCG exerted an inhibitory effect on the formation of amyloids through aggregating FapC monomers into oligomers [ 99 ]. EGCG inhibited the development of biofilm formed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and reduced the elastase activity, swimming and swarming motility [ 100 ]. The biofilm formed by Staphylococcus aureus V329 was disassembled by EGCG [ 101 ].…”

Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Ameliorates Acute Lung Damage by Inhibiting Quorum-Sensing-Related Virulence Factors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

“…Furthermore, novel treatments may be used alone or in combination with conventional therapies, such as the inhibition of QS and bacterial lectins, the use of iron chelation, phage therapy, vaccine strategies, as well as the use of nanoparticles, antimicrobial peptides and electrochemical scaffolds ( Chatterjee et al, 2016 ). In our previous study, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of EGCG against P. aeruginosa was confirmed to be 512 μg/ml ( Hao et al, 2021 ). However, EGCG reduced virulence phenotypes, such as biofilm, protease, elastase activity, swimming, and swarming motility at concentrations where no growth inhibition was observed.…”

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated the diverse activities of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), including antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor and anti-inflammatory activities. In our previous study, we demonstrated that EGCG significantly acted against the expression of P. aeruginosa QS-regulated virulence in vitro , and significantly increased the survival rate of Caenorhabditis elegans infected with P. aeruginosa ( Hao et al, 2021 ). QS quenching, called anti-virulence therapy, has been considered a suitable strategy to settle the multidrug resistance problem ( Clatworthy et al, 2007 ).…”

Paeonol Interferes With Quorum-Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Modulates Inflammatory Responses In Vitro and In Vivo

“…Natural products targeted specific genes that inhibit the growth or pathogenicity of bacteria and control extracellular virulence, such as EGCG, Curcumin, and Eugenol-Containing Essential Oils, which have been investigated as QS inhibitors ( 23 – 25 ). Paeonol is a polyphenolic compound originally extracted from Paeonia lactiflora , Moutan cortex , and Cynanchum paniculatum , which has been used wildly due to various medicinal benefits as an analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory agent in traditional Chinese medicine ( 26 , 27 ).…”