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. 2019 Nov 13:10:2584.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02584. eCollection 2019.

Inhibitory Effect of Two Traditional Chinese Medicine Monomers, Berberine and Matrine, on the Quorum Sensing System of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli

Tong Sun  1 , Xiao-Dong Li  1 , Juan Hong  1 , Can Liu  1 , Xin-Luo Zhang  1 , Jin-Ping Zheng  1 , Yuan-Jun Xu  1 , Zheng-Yang Ou  1 , Jing-Ling Zheng  1 , Dao-Jin Yu  1
Affiliations

Inhibitory Effect of Two Traditional Chinese Medicine Monomers, Berberine and Matrine, on the Quorum Sensing System of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli

Tong Sun et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

The quorum sensing (QS) system controls bacterial biofilm formation, which is highly related to the virulence and resistance of pathogens. In the present study, the effect of two traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) monomers, berberine and matrine, on biofilm formation and QS-related gene expression of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) Escherichia coli strains was investigated by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) observation and real-time PCR. The results indicated a roughly positive relationship between biofilm formation ability and antimicrobial resistance. LSCM observation showed that berberine and matrine inhibited biofilm formation of AMR E. coli strains at 1/2 minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) (1/2 MIC berberine at OD630: 0.1020; 1/2 MIC matrine: OD630: 0.1045); furthermore, abnormal cell morphology such as rounded and elongated cells was also observed. This finding was consistent with the downregulation of QS-related genes: luxS, pfS, sdiA, hflX, motA, and fliA. At 1/2 MIC and 1/4 MIC concentrations of berberine, a significant downregulation of luxS, pfS, hflX, ftsQ, and ftsE was observed. The results indicate that berberine and matrine can inhibit biofilm formation by inhibiting the QS system and that berberine is more effective than matrine.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; biofilm; drug resistance; quorum sensing; traditional Chinese medicine monomer.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Growth curve of of E. coli treated with berberine and matrine at different concentrations.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Comparison of the biofilm formation ability of E. coli at different drug resistance levels (∗∗ indicates a significant difference at p < 0.01).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Effects of the two TCM monomers on biofilm formation of resistant E. coli (∗ indicates a significant difference at p < 0.05; ∗∗ indicates a significant difference at p < 0.01).
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Comparison of the inhibitory effect of berberine on the biofilm formation of E. coli. (a) Untreated group, (b) 1/2 MIC concentration-treated group, (c) 1/4 MIC concentration-treated group, and (d) 1/8 MIC concentration-treated group.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Comparison of the inhibitory effect of matrine on the biofilm formation of E. coli. (a) Untreated group, (b) 1/2 MIC concentration-treated group, (c) 1/4 MIC concentration-treated group, and (d) 1/8 MIC concentration-treated group.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Effects of TCM monomers on the relative expression of the luxS and pfS genes in AI-2 synthesis (∗∗ indicates a significant difference at p < 0.01).
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Effects of TCM monomers on the relative expression of the fliA and motA genes (∗∗ indicates a significant difference at p < 0.01).
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Effects of TCM monomers on the relative expression of the outer membrane protein ompA gene (∗ indicates a significant difference at p < 0.05; ∗∗ indicates a significant difference at p < 0.01).
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
Effects of TCM monomers on the relative expression of the sdiA, ftsQ, ftsE, and hflX genes (∗∗ indicates a significant difference at p < 0.01).
FIGURE 10
FIGURE 10
Synthesis of AI-2 (Vendeville et al., 2005).
FIGURE 11
FIGURE 11
Adjustment pathway for the QS of E. coli (Vendeville et al., 2005).
FIGURE 12
FIGURE 12
Model for the QS regulation of biofilms (Liu and Matsumura, 1994).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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