title: Roemerine Improves the Survival Rate of Septicemic BALB/c Mice by Increasing the Cell Membrane Permeability of Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most frequently occurring hospital- and community-associated pathogenic bacteria featuring high morbidity and mortality. The occurrence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has increased persistently over the years. Therefore, developing novel anti-MRSA drugs to circumvent drug resistance of S. aureus is highly important. Roemerine, an aporphine alkaloid, has previously been reported to exhibit antibacterial activity. The present study aimed to investigate whether roemerine can maintain these activities against S.aureus in vivo and further explore the underlying mechanism. We found that roemerine is effective in vitro against four S. aureus strains as well as in vivo against MRSA insepticemic BALB/c mice. Furthermore, roemerine was found to increase cell membrane permeability in a concentration-dependent manner. These findings suggest that roemerine may be developed as a promising compound for treating S. aureus, especially methicillin-resistant strains of these bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Kunming General Hospital of Chengdu Military Region, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Sunjun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Gaoxiong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China.
authors.forename: Liyang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Kunming General Hospital of Chengdu Military Region, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Gonghao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Chengying
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Chaoyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Kunming General Hospital of Chengdu Military Region, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Guili
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability / Q000187:drug effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000401:mortality; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000401:mortality; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C030169:roemerine