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Gas Plasma Pre-treatment Increases Antibiotic Sensitivity and Persister Eradication in Methicillin-Resistant

Li Guo1, Ruobing Xu2, Yiming Zhao2

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center for Plasma Biomedicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

Frontiers in Microbiology
|April 10, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Gas plasma treatment re-sensitizes antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA to common antibiotics. This approach aids in eradicating persistent bacterial cells, offering a new strategy against difficult-to-treat infections.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Biophysics
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes significant hospital-acquired infections.
  • Recurrent infections stem from antibiotic-tolerant persister cells surviving treatment.
  • Novel strategies are needed to overcome antibiotic resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate gas plasma's effect on MRSA antibiotic sensitivity.
  • To determine if plasma treatment can eradicate MRSA persister cells.
  • To explore the role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) in this process.

Main Methods:

  • Sublethal treatment of MRSA with gas plasma and plasma-activated saline.
  • Assessing changes in antibiotic sensitivity to various classes of antibiotics.
  • Measuring ROS and RNS levels within MRSA cells post-treatment.

Main Results:

  • Plasma treatment increased MRSA sensitivity to tetracycline, gentamycin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, rifampicin, and vancomycin.
  • Plasma and plasma-activated saline promoted the eradication of MRSA persister cells.
  • Short-lived ROS and RNS generated by plasma were identified as key mediators.

Conclusions:

  • Gas plasma acts as an effective antibiotic sensitizer for MRSA.
  • Plasma treatment promotes the elimination of antibiotic-tolerant persister cells.
  • This approach offers a promising adjunctive therapy for antibiotic-resistant infections.
Keywords:
antibiotics resistancecold atmospheric-pressure plasmamethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusreactive nitrogen speciesreactive oxygen species

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