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Effects of Ambroxol on Alginate of Mature Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms

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Abstract

Biofilm-forming bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common pathogen in mechanically ventilated newborns, which can cause life-threatening infections. Alginate of mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms is considered an important virulence factor which contributes to the resistence to antibiotics. Traditionally, ambroxol is widely used in newborns with lung problems as a mucolytic agent and antioxidant agent as well. And there are few studies that demonstrated the anti-biofilm activity of ambroxol. In this study, we found that ambroxol can affect the structure of mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Further, we found that ambroxol reduces the production of alginate, the expression of the important genes and the activity of key enzyme guanosine diphospho-D-mannose dehydrogenase (GDP-mannose dehydrogenase; GMD) which were involved in alginate biosynthesis.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Bing Deng and Xiaoping Zhang for their technical assistance. In addition, we are grateful to Wenlei Wang and Linyan Hu for helpful discussions. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30772363).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neonatology, Children’s Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400014, People’s Republic of China

    Fang Li, Jialin Yu, Hua Yang, Zhenyan Wan & Dan Bai

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  1. Fang Li
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  2. Jialin Yu
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  3. Hua Yang
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  4. Zhenyan Wan
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  5. Dan Bai
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Correspondence to Jialin Yu.

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Li, F., Yu, J., Yang, H. et al. Effects of Ambroxol on Alginate of Mature Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. Curr Microbiol 57, 1–7 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-008-9142-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-008-9142-8

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