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Antibiofilm activities of ceragenins and antimicrobial peptides against fungal-bacterial mono and multispecies biofilms

The Journal of Antibiotics volume 73, pages 455–462 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Multispecies biofilms, in which both fungus and bacteria species can be present, play a significant role in persistent infections, and new therapeutic options are needed against them. In this study, the activities of ceragenins and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) (magainin, cecropin A, LL-37) were investigated against multispecies biofilms formed by Candida albicans and four clinically important Gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Our results show that CSA-13 and CSA-90 were the most effective agents against both mono and multispecies biofilms (P < 0.05). CSA-131 and CSA-192 showed the least antimicrobial activity against mono and fungal-bacterial multispecies biofilms. Inhibition of multispecies biofilms with CSA-13 and CSA-90 was also confirmed through fluorescence microscopy images. When AMPs evaluated alone, they proved ineffective against both C. albicans and Gram-negative bacteria at the concentrations tested. In these studies, ceragenins were much more effective than AMPs against multi or monospecies biofilms, especially those containing C. albicans.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Research Fund of Istanbul University [project number TSA-2017-26191].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Istanbul University, Beyazit, 34116, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mayram Hacioglu, Ozlem Oyardi & Cagla Bozkurt-Guzel

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Paul B. Savage

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Correspondence to Mayram Hacioglu.

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Hacioglu, M., Oyardi, O., Bozkurt-Guzel, C. et al. Antibiofilm activities of ceragenins and antimicrobial peptides against fungal-bacterial mono and multispecies biofilms. J Antibiot 73, 455–462 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41429-020-0299-0

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