Transmission Electron Microscopic Morphological Study and Flow Cytometric Viability Assessment ofAcinetobacter baumanniiSusceptible toMusca domesticacecropin
Multidrug-resistant (MDR)Acinetobacter baumanniiinfections are difficult to treat owing to the extremely limited armamentarium. Expectations about antimicrobial peptides' use as new powerful antibacterial agents have been raised on the basis of their unique mechanism of action.Musca domesticacecropin (Mdc), a novel antimicrobial peptide from the larvae of Housefly (Musca domestica), has potently active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria standard strain. Here we evaluated the antibacterial activity of Mdc against clinical isolates of MDR-A. baumanniiand elucidate the related antibacterial mechanisms. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Mdc was 4 μg/mL. Bactericidal kinetics of Mdc revealed rapid killing ofA. baumannii(30 min). Flow cytometry using viability stain demonstrated that Mdc causesA. baumanniimembrane permeabilization in a concentration- and time-dependent process, which correlates with the bactericidal action. Moreover, transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination showed that Mdc is capable of disrupting the membrane of bacterial cells, resulting in efflux of essential cytoplasmic components. Overall, Mdc could be a promising antibacterial agent for MDR-A. baumanniiinfections.