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Antibiofilm activity of Cutibacterium acnes cell-free conditioned media against Staphylococcus spp.

  • Human Microbiome - Research Paper
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Abstract

Staphylococcus spp. and Cutibacterium acnes are members of the skin microbiome but can also act as pathogens. Particularly, Staphylococcus species are known to cause medical devices-associated infections, and biofilm production is one of their main virulence factors. Biofilms allow bacteria to adhere and persist on surfaces, protecting them from antimicrobials and host defenses. Since both bacteria are found in the human skin, potentially competing for niches, we aimed to investigate if C. acnes produces molecules that affect Staphylococcus spp. biofilm formation and dispersal. Thus, we evaluated the impact of C. acnes cell-free conditioned media (CFCM) on S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. hominis, and S. lugdunensis biofilm formation. S. lugdunensis and S. hominis biofilm formation was significantly reduced with C. acnes CFCM without impact on their planktonic growth. C. acnes CFCM also significantly disrupted S. hominis established biofilms. The active molecules against S. lugdunensis and S. hominis biofilms appeared to be distinct since initial characterization points to different sizes and sensitivity to sodium metaperiodate, although the activity is highly resistant to heat in both cases. Mass spectrometry analysis of the fractions active against S. hominis revealed several potential candidates. Investigating how species present in the same environment interact, affecting the dynamics of biofilm formation, may reveal clinically useful compounds as well as molecular aspects of interspecies interactions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Jefferson Bomfim Silva Cypriano and UniMicro at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and Sara Teixeira de Macedo Silva and CENABIO at UFRJ for scanning electron microscopy and image processing. We also would like to thank the Centro de Espectrometria de Massas de Biomoléculas (CEMBIO) at UFRJ for mass spectrometry analyses.

Funding

This study was supported by Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES—Finance Code 001), as well as the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Inova Fiocruz/VPPCB Program. This work was supported in part by Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) grant # E-26/211.554/2019 (Programa Rede de Pesquisa em Saúde).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Rayssa Durães Lima, Gabrielle Antunes dos Reis, Juliana da Silva Reviello, Thaís Glatthardt, Larissa da Silva Coimbra, Carla Ormundo Gonçalves Ximenes Lima & Rosana Barreto Rocha Ferreira

  2. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Luis Caetano Martha Antunes

  3. Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças de Populações Negligenciadas, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Luis Caetano Martha Antunes

  4. Departamento de Microbiologia Médica, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, CCS, Bloco I2-028, UFRJ, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-590, Brazil

    Rosana Barreto Rocha Ferreira

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  1. Rayssa Durães Lima
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Contributions

Conceptualization and interpretation of data: RDL, LCMA, and RBRF. Data acquisition: RDL, GAR, JSR, TG, LSC, and COGXL. Funding acquisition: LCMA and RBRF. Supervision: RBRF. Writing: RDL, TG, LCMA, and RBRF.

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Correspondence to Rosana Barreto Rocha Ferreira.

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Lima, R.D., dos Reis, G.A., da Silva Reviello, J. et al. Antibiofilm activity of Cutibacterium acnes cell-free conditioned media against Staphylococcus spp.. Braz J Microbiol 52, 2373–2383 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-021-00617-w

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