Bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics necessitates the identification of novel leads for infection control. Interference with extracellular phenomena, such as quorum sensing, extracellular DNA integrity and redox active metabolite release, represents a new frontier to control human pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and hence reduce mortality. Here we reveal that the extracellular redox active virulence factor pyocyanin produced by P. aeruginosa binds directly to the deoxyribose-phosphate backbone of DNA and intercalates with DNA nitrogenous base pair regions. Binding results in local perturbations of the DNA double helix structure and enhanced electron transfer along the nucleic acid polymer. Pyocyanin binding to DNA also increases DNA solution viscosity. In contrast, antioxidants interacting with DNA and pyocyanin decrease DNA solution viscosity. Biofilms deficient in pyocyanin production and biofilms lacking extracellular DNA show similar architecture indicating the interaction is important in P. aeruginosa biofilm formation.

bPseudomonas aeruginosa infections result in high morbidity and mortality rates for individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF), with premature death often occurring. These infections are complicated by the formation of biofilms in the sputum. Antibiotic therapy is stymied by antibiotic resistance of the biofilm matrix, making novel antibiofilm strategies highly desirable. Within P. aeruginosa biofilms, the redox factor pyocyanin enhances biofilm integrity by intercalating with extracellular DNA. The antioxidant glutathione (GSH) reacts with pyocyanin, disrupting intercalation. This study investigated GSH disruption by assaying the physiological effects of GSH and DNase I on biofilms of clinical CF isolates grown in CF artificial sputum medium (ASMDM؉). Confocal scanning laser microscopy showed that 2 mM GSH, alone or combined with DNase I, significantly disrupted immature (24-h) biofilms of Australian epidemic strain (AES) isogens AES-1R and AES-1M. GSH alone greatly disrupted mature (72-h) AES-1R biofilms, resulting in significant differential expression of 587 genes, as indicated by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. Upregulated systems included cyclic diguanylate and pyoverdine biosynthesis, the type VI secretion system, nitrate metabolism, and translational machinery. Biofilm disruption with GSH revealed a cellular physiology distinct from those of mature and dispersed biofilms. RNA-seq results were validated by biochemical and quantitative PCR assays. Biofilms of a range of CF isolates disrupted with GSH and DNase I were significantly more susceptible to ciprofloxacin, and increased antibiotic effectiveness was achieved by increasing the GSH concentration. This study demonstrated that GSH, alone or with DNase I, represents an effective antibiofilm treatment when combined with appropriate antibiotics, pending in vivo studies.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic Gram-negative bacterium that is primarily responsible for infections related to cystic fibrosis (CF) airways, burn wounds, urinary tract infections, surgery-associated infections, and HIV-related illness. Pyocyanin and extracellular DNA (eDNA) are the major factors dictating the progression of biofilm formation and infection. Pyocyanin is a potent virulence factor causing cell death in infected CF patients and is associated with high mortality. eDNA is a key player in P. aeruginosa biofilm formation and is also responsible for the high viscosity of CF sputum that blocks the respiratory airway passages. In this chapter, we summarize our recent findings on the role of pyocyanin in facilitating P. aeruginosa biofilm formation. Pyocyanin promotes eDNA release in P. aeruginosa by inducing cell lysis mediated via hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) production. Pyocyanin intercalates with the nitrogenous bases of DNA and creates structural perturbation on the double-helix structure. Pyocyanin-eDNA binding significantly influences P. aeruginosa cell surface hydrophobicity and influences the physicochemical interactions facilitating bacterial cell-to-cell interaction (aggregation) and ultimately facilitates robust biofilm formation. A pyocyanin knockout (ΔphzA-G) mutant is shown to have significantly reduced eDNA release and biofilm formation in comparison to its wild-type. To this end, we discover that antioxidant glutathione directly binds to pyocyanin and modulates pyocyanin structure and function, thus inhibiting pyocyanin-eDNA binding and consequently hampering biofilm development.

Prodigiosin is a heterocyclic bacterial secondary metabolite belonging to the class of tripyrrole compounds, synthesized by various types of bacteria including Serratia species. Prodigiosin has been the subject of intense research over the last decade for its ability to induce apoptosis in several cancer cell lines. Reports suggest that prodigiosin promotes oxidative damage to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in the presence of copper ions and consequently leads to inhibition of cell-cycle progression and cell death. However, prodigiosin has not been previously implicated in biofilm inhibition. In this study, the link between prodigiosin and biofilm inhibition through the production of redox active metabolites is presented. Our study showed that prodigiosin (500 μM) (extracted from Serratia marcescens culture) and a prodigiosin/copper(II) (100 μM each) complex have strong RNA and dsDNA cleaving properties while they have no pronounced effect on protein. Results support a role for oxidative damage to biomolecules by H2O2 and hydroxyl radical generation. Further, it was demonstrated that reactive oxygen species scavengers significantly reduced the DNA and RNA cleaving property of prodigiosin. P. aeruginosa cell surface hydrophobicity and biofilm integrity were significantly altered due to the cleavage of nucleic acids by prodigiosin or the prodigiosin/copper(II) complex. In addition, prodigiosin also facilitated the bactericidal activity. The ability of prodigiosinto cause nucleic acid degradation offers novel opportunities to interfere with extracellular DNA dependent bacterial biofilms.

Pyocyanin secreted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a virulence factor that damages epithelial cells during infection through the action of reactive oxygen species, however, little is known about its direct effect on biofilms. We demonstrated that pyocyanin-producing P. aeruginosa strains (PA14WT, DKN370, AES-1R, and AES-2) formed robust biofilms in contrast to the poorly formed biofilms of the pyocyanin mutant PA14ΔphzA-G and the low pyocyanin producer AES-1M. Addition of DNase I and reduced glutathione (GSH) significantly reduced biofilm biomass of pyocyanin-producing strains (P < 0.05) compared to non-pyocyanin producers. Subsequently we showed that a combined treatment comprising: GSH + DNase I + antibiotic, disrupted and reduced biofilm biomass up to 90% in cystic fibrosis isolates AES-1R, AES-2, LESB58, and LES431 and promoted lung epithelial cell (A549) recovery and growth. We also showed that exogenously added GSH restored A549 epithelial cell glutathione reductase activity in the presence of pyocyanin through recycling of GSSG to GSH and consequently increased total intracellular GSH levels, inhibiting oxidative stress, and facilitating cell growth and confluence. These outcomes indicate that GSH has multiple roles in facilitating a return to normal epithelial cell growth after insult by pyocyanin. With increased antibiotic resistance in many bacterial species, there is an urgency to establish novel antimicrobial agents. GSH is able to rapidly and comprehensively destroy P. aeruginosa associated biofilms while at a same time assisting in the recovery of host cells and re-growth of damaged tissue.