title: Quorum sensing inhibitors of Staphylococcus aureus from Italian medicinal plants.
abstract: Morbidity and mortality estimates due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections continue to rise. Therapeutic options are limited by antibiotic resistance. Anti-pathogenic compounds, which inhibit quorum sensing (QS) pathways, may be a useful alternative to antibiotics. Staphylococcal QS is encoded by the AGR locus and is responsible for the production of δ-hemolysin. Quantification of δ-hemolysin found in culture supernatants permits the analysis of AGR activity at the translational rather than transcriptional level. We employed reversed phase high performance chromatographic (RP-HPLC) techniques to investigate the anti-QS activity of 168 extracts from 104 Italian plants through quantification of δ-hemolysin. Extracts from three medicinal plants (Ballota nigra, Castanea sativa, and Sambucus ebulus) exhibited a dose-dependent response in the production of δ-hemolysin, indicating anti-QS activity in a pathogenic MRSA isolate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA. cassy.quave@gmail.com
authors.forename: Cassandra L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Quave
authors.forename: Lisa R W
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Plano
authors.forename: Bradley C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Bennett
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D029962:Fagaceae / Q000737:chemistry; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D007558:Italy; D019686:Lamiaceae / Q000737:chemistry; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000187:drug effects*; D027923:Sambucus / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D010936:Plant Extracts; C025994:delta hemolysin protein, Staphylococcus aureus