title: Polycationic peptides as prophylactic agents against methicillin-susceptible or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis vascular graft infection.
abstract: Several polycationic peptides isolated from animals, plants, and bacterial species possess a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. A rat model was used to investigate the efficacies of two peptides, ranalexin and buforin II, in the prevention of vascular prosthetic graft infections. The effect of peptide-soaked collagen-sealed Dacron was compared to that of rifampin-soaked collagen-sealed Dacron in the rat model of graft infection caused by methicillin-susceptible rifampin-susceptible Staphylococcus epidermidis and methicillin-resistant rifampin-susceptible S. epidermidis. Graft infections were established in the back subcutaneous tissue of 240 adult male Wistar rats by implantation of 1-cm(2) Dacron prostheses, followed by topical inoculation with 2 x 10(7) CFU of S. epidermidis. The study included a control group (no graft contamination), two contaminated groups that did not receive any antibiotic prophylaxis, two contaminated groups to which perioperative intraperitoneal cefazolin prophylaxis (30 mg/kg of body weight) was administered, six contaminated groups that received a peptide- or rifampin-soaked graft, and six contaminated groups that received a peptide- or rifampin-soaked graft and perioperative intraperitoneal cefazolin prophylaxis (30 mg/kg). The grafts were sterilely removed 7 days after implantation, and the infection was evaluated by using sonication and quantitative agar culture. Overall, the efficacies of the polycationic peptides against the methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant strains were not significantly different from that of rifampin. Nevertheless, the combinations of ranalexin- and buforin II-coated grafts with cefazolin treatment demonstrated efficacies significantly higher than that of the combination of rifampin-coated grafts and cefazolin treatment against the methicillin-resistant strain.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, National Institute for Research and Therapy in the Elderly, University of Ancona, Ancona, Italy. cmalinf@popcsi.unian.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giacometti
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cirioni
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghiselli
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Goffi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mocchegiani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scalise
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Saba
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011506:Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000187:drug effects; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic; D011506:Proteins; C097849:buforin II; C086618:ranalexin