Photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy with the novel amino acid-porphyrin conjugate 4I: In vitro and in vivo studies

PLoS One. 2017 May 11;12(5):e0176529. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176529. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT), as a novel and effective therapeutic modality to eradicate drug resistant bacteria without provoking multidrug resistance, has attracted increasing attention. This study examined the antimicrobial efficacy of the novel cationic amino acid-porphyrin conjugate 4I with four lysine groups against two different clinical isolated strains (drug sensitive and multidrug resistant) of the Acinetobacter baumannii species and its toxicity on murine dermal fibroblasts in vitro, as well as the therapeutic effect of PACT on acute, potentially lethal multidrug resistant strain excisional wound infections in vivo. The PACT protocol exposed 4I to illumination, exhibiting high antimicrobial efficacy on two different strains due to a high yield of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and non-selectivity to microorganisms. The photoinactivation effects of 4I against two different strains were dose-dependent. At 3.9 μM and 7.8 μM, PACT induced 6 log units of inactivation of sensitive and multidrug resistant strains. In contrast, 4I alone and illumination alone treatments had no visibly antimicrobial effect. Moreover, cytotoxicity tests revealed the great safety of the photosensitizer 4I in mice. In the in vivo study, we found 4I-mediated PACT was not only able to kill bacteria but also accelerated wound recovery. Compared with non-treated mice, over 2.89 log reduction of multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strain was reached in PACT treat mice at 24 h post-treatment. These results imply that 4I-mediated PACT therapy is an effective and safe alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy and has clinical potential for superficial drug-resistant bacterial infections.

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter baumannii / drug effects
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / pathogenicity
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / radiation effects
  • Amino Acids / administration & dosage*
  • Amino Acids / chemistry
  • Animals
  • Anti-Infective Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Anti-Infective Agents / chemistry
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / microbiology
  • Inflammation / therapy*
  • Light
  • Mice
  • Photochemotherapy
  • Porphyrins / administration & dosage*
  • Porphyrins / chemistry

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Porphyrins

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Major Projects of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China (201302003 to ShikeHou), Tianjin Natural Science Foundation of China (15JCYBJC28500 to HuiDing, 15ZXLCSY00040 to ShikeHou), Tianjin Health bureau science and technology Foundation of China (2015KZ123 to ZiquanLiu), Basic Research Program of Logistics University of PAP (WHJ2016025 to ZiquanLiu). The funders provided support in study design.