Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance is increasing among gram-positive bacteria, particularly the resistance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to β-lactam antibiotics.
In this research, checkerboard minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays, time-killing assays, enzyme inhibition assays, hemolysis tests, and cytotoxicity analyses were performed to confirm the synergistic effects of tunicamycin (TUN) in combination with β-lactam antibiotics at levels without potential cytotoxicity.
TUN at ≤ 1 μg/mL decreased the MICs of cephalosporins or penicillins against MRSA strain USA300, which became sensitive. TUN showed synergistic effects with cefuroxime sodium (FIC index ≤ 0.19) against tested gram-positive bacterial strains of both human clinical and animal origin. Time-killing assays indicated that the combination treatment eliminated MRSA 3–9 h after inoculation. Furthermore, the better synergy of specific β-lactam antibiotics at potentially cytotoxicity-free concentrations in combination with TUN against β-lactam-resistant gram-positive microorganisms was confirmed.
This study provides an experimental basis for combination treatment with TUN and β-lactam antibiotics with specific chemical structures for the clinical treatment of gram-positive bacterial infections.
Read More: https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/ZOONOSES-2025-0024
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eISSN 2737-7474
ISSN 2737-7466
Xueyangyang Bai, Jinjing Xue and Fei He et al. Tunicamycin and β-Lactams with Five Membered Ring Structures Have Stronger Synergistic Effects Against Gram-Positive Bacteria. Zoonoses. 2025. Vol. 5(1). DOI: 10.15212/ZOONOSES-2025-0024