TY - JOUR

T1 - Synthetic anti-endotoxin peptides interfere with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, their adhesion and biofilm formation on titanium

AU - Subh, L.

AU - Correa, W.

AU - Pinkvos, T. J.

AU - Behrens, P.

AU - Brandenburg, K.

AU - Gutsmann, T.

AU - Stiesch, M.

AU - Doll, K.

AU - Winkel, A.

N1 - Funding Information: This study was part of the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM-Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand) project and was financially supported by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany. K.D. was supported by the research initiative Biofabrication for NIFE, funded by the State of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation. W.C. was temporarily supported by a grant of Brandenburg Antiinfektiva GmbH. The authors thank Henning Hartwig for excellent technical assistance and the AristoTech Industries GmbH for their helpful suggestions towards this work.

PY - 2020/10/13

Y1 - 2020/10/13

N2 - Aims: Implant-associated infections arise from the formation of bacterial biofilms, which are difficult to be treated with conventional antibiotics. Therefore, there is a need for new implant functionalizations, which inhibit biofilm formation. The aim of the present study was to characterize the effect of synthetic peptides to assess their applicability for this purpose. Methods and Results: Two synthetic anti-endotoxin peptides, Pep19-2.5 and Pep19-4LF (Aspidasept I and II) were tested against both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus oralis) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans) bacteria associated with implant infections. Their activity was evaluated against different states of biofilm formation on the implant material titanium using CFU, live/dead fluorescence staining and confocal microscopy. Both peptides inhibited planktonic bacteria growth, impacted initial bacterial adhesion, reduced biofilm volume and increased the proportion of dead cells. Additionally, cytotoxicity analyses showed that neither peptide harmed human gingival fibroblasts nor osteoblasts at lower concentrations. Conclusion: A concentration-dependent antibacterial activity of both peptides against biofilms of four clinically relevant bacteria could be demonstrated. Significance and Impact of the Study: The results of this study serve as a promising basis for the improvement of these peptides in order to finally achieve a peptide-equipped antibacterial implant surface.

AB - Aims: Implant-associated infections arise from the formation of bacterial biofilms, which are difficult to be treated with conventional antibiotics. Therefore, there is a need for new implant functionalizations, which inhibit biofilm formation. The aim of the present study was to characterize the effect of synthetic peptides to assess their applicability for this purpose. Methods and Results: Two synthetic anti-endotoxin peptides, Pep19-2.5 and Pep19-4LF (Aspidasept I and II) were tested against both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus oralis) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans) bacteria associated with implant infections. Their activity was evaluated against different states of biofilm formation on the implant material titanium using CFU, live/dead fluorescence staining and confocal microscopy. Both peptides inhibited planktonic bacteria growth, impacted initial bacterial adhesion, reduced biofilm volume and increased the proportion of dead cells. Additionally, cytotoxicity analyses showed that neither peptide harmed human gingival fibroblasts nor osteoblasts at lower concentrations. Conclusion: A concentration-dependent antibacterial activity of both peptides against biofilms of four clinically relevant bacteria could be demonstrated. Significance and Impact of the Study: The results of this study serve as a promising basis for the improvement of these peptides in order to finally achieve a peptide-equipped antibacterial implant surface.

KW - antimicrobials

KW - biofilms

KW - infection

KW - microbial contamination

KW - peptides

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087306410&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/jam.14701

DO - 10.1111/jam.14701

M3 - Article

C2 - 32403180

AN - SCOPUS:85087306410

VL - 129

SP - 1272

EP - 1286

JO - Journal of applied microbiology

JF - Journal of applied microbiology

SN - 1364-5072

IS - 5

ER -