An efficient and novel screening model for assessing the bioactivity of extracts against multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa using Caenorhabditis elegans

Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2011;75(9):1746-51. doi: 10.1271/bbb.110290. Epub 2011 Sep 7.

Abstract

As a large number of multidrug-resistant bacteria have emerged, and there is an urgent need for the development of new antibacterial agents. In this study, we developed a liquid-based slow killing assay to be carried out in standard 96-well microtiter plates. This screening method was designed to facilitate high-throughput screening of small molecules and extracts. In antibiotic rescue assays, the Caenorhabditis elegans multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection model displayed a high degree of drug resistance in vivo and in vitro. We used the method to screen 1,300 extracts, and found 36 extracts (2.7%) which prolonged the survival of infected nematodes, and four (0.3%) of these extracts showed in vitro and in vivo anti-multidrug resistant P. aeruginosa activity. These results indicate that the whole-animal C. elegans multidrug-resistant bacterial model can be used to screen antibacterial compounds, and can also be useful for bioactive compounds which most likely cannot be identified in vitro.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemistry
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / growth & development
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / microbiology
  • Colony Count, Microbial
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / drug effects*
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays*
  • Larva / growth & development*
  • Larva / microbiology
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Plants, Medicinal / chemistry*
  • Pseudomonas Infections / drug therapy*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / growth & development
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / pathogenicity
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemistry
  • Small Molecule Libraries / pharmacology

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Plant Extracts
  • Small Molecule Libraries