scholarly journals Wax moth larva (Galleria mellonella): an in vivo model for assessing the efficacy of antistaphylococcal agents

2011 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 1785-1790 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Desbois ◽  
P. J. Coote
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Giannouli ◽  
Anna Teresa Palatucci ◽  
Valentina Rubino ◽  
Giuseppina Ruggiero ◽  
Marco Romano ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jess Vergis ◽  
S V S Malik ◽  
Richa Pathak ◽  
Manesh Kumar ◽  
Nitin V Kurkure ◽  
...  

Abstract High throughput in vivo laboratory models is need for screening and identification of effective therapeutic agents to overcome microbial drug-resistance. This study was undertaken to evaluate in vivo antimicrobial efficacy of short-chain antimicrobial peptide- Cecropin A (1–7)-Melittin (CAMA) against three multi- drug resistant enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (MDR-EAEC) field isolates in a Galleria mellonella larval model. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC; 2.0 mg/L) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC; 4.0 mg/L) of CAMA were determined by microdilution assay. CAMA was found to be stable at high temperatures, physiological concentration of cationic salts and proteases; safe with sheep erythrocytes, secondary cell lines and commensal lactobacilli at lower MICs; and exhibited membrane permeabilisation. In vitro time-kill assay revealed concentration- and time-dependent clearance of MDR-EAEC in CAMA-treated groups at 30 min. CAMA- treated G. mellonella larvae exhibited an increased survival rate, reduced MDR-EAEC counts, immunomodulatory effect and proved non-toxic which concurred with histopathological findings. CAMA exhibited either an equal or better efficacy than the tested antibiotic control, meropenem. This study highlights the possibility of G. mellonella larvae as an excellent in vivo model for investigating the host-pathogen interaction, including the efficacy of antimicrobials against MDR-EAEC strains.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Dalila Mil-Homens ◽  
Maria Martins ◽  
José Barbosa ◽  
Gabriel Serafim ◽  
Maria J. Sarmento ◽  
...  

Klebsiella pneumoniae, one of the most common pathogens found in hospital-acquired infections, is often resistant to multiple antibiotics. In fact, multidrug-resistant (MDR) K. pneumoniae producing KPC or OXA-48-like carbapenemases are recognized as a serious global health threat. In this sense, we evaluated the virulence of K. pneumoniae KPC(+) or OXA-48(+) aiming at potential antimicrobial therapeutics. K. pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) and the expanded-spectrum oxacillinase OXA-48 isolates were obtained from patients treated in medical care units in Lisbon, Portugal. The virulence potential of the K. pneumonia clinical isolates was tested using the Galleria mellonella model. For that, G. mellonella larvae were inoculated using patients KPC(+) and OXA-48(+) isolates. Using this in vivo model, the KPC(+) K. pneumoniae isolates showed to be, on average, more virulent than OXA-48(+). Virulence was found attenuated when a low bacterial inoculum (one magnitude lower) was tested. In addition, we also report the use of a synthetic polycationic oligomer (L-OEI-h) as a potential antimicrobial agent to fight infectious diseases caused by MDR bacteria. L-OEI-h has a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and exerts a significantly bactericidal activity within the first 5-30 min treatment, causing lysis of the cytoplasmic membrane. Importantly, the polycationic oligomer showed low toxicity against in vitro models and no visible cytotoxicity (measured by survival and health index) was noted on the in vivo model (G. mellonella), thus L-OEI-h is foreseen as a promising polymer therapeutic for the treatment of MDR K. pneumoniae infections.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S896-S897
Author(s):  
Faris S Alnezary ◽  
Tasnuva Rashid ◽  
Khurshida Begum ◽  
Travis J Carlson ◽  
Anne J Gonzales-Luna ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Antimicrobials disrupt the gut microbiota by reducing gut microbiome diversity and quantity. Galleria mellonella provides an invertebrate model that is inexpensive, easy to maintain, and does not require specialized equipment. This study investigated the feasibility of using G. mellonella as an in vivo model to evaluate the effect of different antimicrobials on gut microbiota. Methods To determine baseline gut microbiota composition, the gut contents of G. mellonella were extracted and genomic DNA underwent shotgun meta-genomic sequencing. To determine the effect of infection and antibiotic use, 30 larvae were injected (left proleg) with ~1 × 105 colony-forming unit (cfu) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and were randomized 1:1:1 to treatment with vancomycin (20 mg/kg) or a natural antimicrobial (Nigella sativa seed oil, 70 mg/kg; NS oil), or a combination. The larvae were kept at 37°C post-infection and monitored daily for 72 hours for activity, extent of cocoon formation/growth, melanization, and survival. Two larvae from each group were randomly selected and homogenized with PBS as controls. After 24 hours of incubation, gut contents were extracted and plated for MRSA and Enterococcus cfu counts. Results Metagenomics analysis showed the gut microbiota composition of G. mellonella larvae was dominated by a subset of closely-related Enterococcus species. After 24 hours of exposure, mean Enterococcus counts were 4 × 103 cfu in the vancomycin arm and 6.2 × 104 cfu in the NS oil arm. Mean MRSA counts were 3.3 × 105 cfu in vancomycin arm and 1.5 × 104 cfu in NS oil arm. The combination of vancomycin and NS oil had higher Enterococcus counts than the vancomycin alone arm (6.3 × 104 cfu vs. 4 × 103 cfu, respectively), suggesting that NS oil may have a role in protecting the gut microbiota. Conclusion This study provides preliminary evidence to support the potential use of G. mellonella to assess the in vivo effect of a natural and synthetic antimicrobial on the gut microbiota. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


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