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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Globally, urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most frequent bacterial infections. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are the predominant etiological agents causing community and healthcare-associated UTIs. Biofilm formation is an important pathogenetic mechanism of UPEC responsible for chronic and recurrent infections. The development of high levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among UPEC has complicated therapeutic management. Newer antimicrobial agents are needed to tackle the increasing trend of AMR and inhibit biofilms. Heraclenol is a natural furocoumarin compound that inhibits histidine biosynthesis selectively. In this study, for the first time, we have demonstrated the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of heraclenol against UPEC. The drug reduced the bacterial load in the murine catheter UTI model by ≥4 logs. The drug effectively reduced bacterial loads in kidney, bladder, and urine samples. On histopathological examination, heraclenol treatment showed a reversal of inflammatory changes in the bladder and kidney tissues. It reduced the biofilm formation by 70%. The MIC value of heraclenol was observed to be high (1024 µg/mL), though the drug at MIC concentration did not have significant cytotoxicity on the Vero cell line. Further molecular docking revealed that heraclenol binds to the active site of the HisC, thereby preventing its activation by native substrate, which might be responsible for its antibacterial and antibiofilm activity. Since the high MIC of heraclenol is not achievable clinically in human tissues, further chemical modifications will be required to lower the drug’s MIC value and increase its potency. Alternatively, its synergistic action with other antimicrobials may also be studied.

Details

Title
In Vitro and In Vivo Studies of Heraclenol as a Novel Bacterial Histidine Biosynthesis Inhibitor against Invasive and Biofilm-Forming Uropathogenic Escherichia coli
Author
Kaur, Harpreet 1 ; Chaudhary, Naveen 1 ; Modgil, Vinay 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kalia, Manmohit 2 ; Kant, Vishal 1 ; Mohan, Balvinder 1 ; Bhatia, Alka 3 ; Taneja, Neelam 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India 
 Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India; Department of Biology, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA 
 Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India 
First page
110
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20796382
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2767127275
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.