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Simvastatin decreases the silver resistance of E. faecalis through compromising the entrapping function of

Jingwen Cui1, Mengting Duan1, Qing Sun1

  • 1The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology (Hubei‑MOST) and Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, 237 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China.

World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology
|March 16, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Simvastatin reduces silver resistance in Enterococcus faecalis by disrupting the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that trap silver ions and nanoparticles. This finding offers new insights into combating silver-resistant bacterial infections.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Nanotechnology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) causes refractory infections and exhibits resistance to silver.
  • Simvastatin, an HMG-COA reductase inhibitor, shows potential antibacterial properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Establish and characterize silver-resistant E. faecalis.
  • Evaluate the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in silver resistance.
  • Investigate simvastatin's effect on silver resistance in E. faecalis.

Main Methods:

  • Development of silver ion (Ag+) and silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-resistant E. faecalis strains.
  • Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), High-angle annular dark-field (HAADF), and mapping analyses.
  • Incubation of bacteria with silver and simvastatin, followed by elemental analysis.

Main Results:

  • Established E. faecalis strains showed high resistance to both Ag+ and AgNPs.
  • Simvastatin decreased silver resistance in both original and resistant E. faecalis strains.
  • Silver ions/particles were confined within EPS in resistant strains; simvastatin disrupted this, allowing silver entry.

Conclusions:

  • Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) play a crucial role in the silver resistance of E. faecalis.
  • Simvastatin compromises EPS function, thereby reducing the bacterium's silver resistance.
  • These findings suggest simvastatin as a potential agent to enhance antimicrobial strategies against silver-resistant E. faecalis.
Keywords:
Enterococcus faecalisExtracellular polymeric substancesResistanceSilver ionSilver nanoparticleSimvastatin

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