RESEARCH ARTICLE
Polyamino-Isoprenic Derivatives Block
Intrinsic Resistance of P. aeruginosa to
Doxycycline and Chloramphenicol In Vitro
Diane Borselli
1
, Aurélie Lieutaud
1
, Hél
ène Thefenne
1,2
, Eric Garnotel
1,2
, Jean-
Marie Pag
ès
1
, Jean Michel Brunel
3
, Jean-Michel Bolla
1
*
1 Aix-Marseille Université, IRBA, TMCD2 UMR-MD1, Faculté de Médecine, 13385 Marseille, France,
2 Hôpital d'Instruction des Armées Alphonse-Laveran, 13013 Marseille, France, 3 Centre de Recherche en
Cancérologie de Marseille (CRCM), CNRS, UMR7258, Institut Paoli Calmettes, Aix-Marseille Université, UM
105, Inserm, U1068, F-13009, Marseille, France
*
jean-michel.bolla@univ-amu.fr
Abstract
Multidrug resistant bacteria have been a worldwide concern for decades. Though new mol-
ecules that effectively target Gram-positive bacteria are currently appearing on the market,
a gap remains in the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore,
new strategies must be developed against these pathogens. The aim of this study was to
select an antibiotic for which a bacterium is naturally resistant and to use an escort molecule
to restore susceptibility, similarly to the model of
β-lactam/ β-lactamase inhibitors. High-con-
tent screening was performed on the reference strain PA01, allowing the selection of four
polyamino-isoprenic compounds that acted synergistically with doxycycline. They were
assayed against clinical isolates and Multi-Drug-Resistant strains. One of these compounds
was able to decrease the MIC of doxycycline on the reference strain, efflux pump overpro-
ducers and clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa, to the susceptibility level. Similar results
were obtained using chloramphenicol as the antibiotic. Membrane permeation assays and
real-time efflux experiments were used to characterize the mechanism of doxycycline
potentiation.
The results showed that the selected compound strongly decreases the efficiency of glu-
cose-triggered efflux associated with a slight destabilization of the outer membrane. Accord-
ing to these data, targeting natural resistance may become an interesting way to combat
MDR pathogens and could represent an alternative to already devised strategies.
Introduction
With the current global crisis of antibiotic resistance, any strategy that could improve the ther-
apeutic tools used in the fight against bacterial infections must be utilized [
1
]. National and
International health agencies have successfully established a series of measures to encourage
the control of the usage of drugs and the development of new molecules. Although significant
progress has been made in the fight against Gram-positive infections in the last decade, a gap
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0154490
May 6, 2016
1 / 16
a11111
OPEN ACCESS
Citation: Borselli D, Lieutaud A, Thefenne H,
Garnotel E, Pagès J-M, Brunel JM, et al. (2016)
Polyamino-Isoprenic Derivatives Block Intrinsic
Resistance of P. aeruginosa to Doxycycline and
Chloramphenicol In Vitro. PLoS ONE 11(5):
e0154490. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0154490
Editor: Eric Cascales, Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique, Aix-Marseille Université,
FRANCE
Received: November 3, 2015
Accepted: April 14, 2016
Published: May 6, 2016
Copyright: © 2016 Borselli et al. This is an open
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License
, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original author and source are
credited.
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Funding: Aix-Marseille University funded the work.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared
that no competing interests exist.
remains in the treatment of Gram-negative bacteria, particularly in the discovery of new active
molecules [
2
,
3
]. Effective Gram-positive targeting molecules are globally not very active
against Gram-negative bacteria, though the same targets exist in both types of bacteria [
4
]. In
the latter, the major problem of antibiotic entry and accumulation of the drug near the target
has not yet been solved [
5
] This is due, in part, both to the low permeability of Gram-negative
bacteria, which are surrounded by the outer membrane, that decreases the entry of compounds
and to the constitutive expression of efflux pumps by these bacteria [
6
,
7
]. Moreover, it is well
documented that they are able to overproduce these efflux pumps in response to extra-cellular
compounds, including drugs [
8
]. Thus, screenings based on an in vitro test for a particular tar-
get face the recurring problem of the permeability of Gram-negative bacteria [
9
].
Therefore, it may be interesting to first identify molecules effective on whole bacteria and
then, if the test is positive, search for their mode of action. We used this approach to address
the question of the natural resistance of Pseudomonas to doxycycline.
The aim of this study was to select an antibiotic for which a bacterium is naturally resistant
and to use an escort molecule to restore susceptibility, similarly to the model of
β-lactam/ β-lac-
tamase inhibitors. This strategy could constitute an opportunity for an old neglected molecule
to be rejuvenated by using an adjuvant to improve its action.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa represents a serious therapeutic challenge for both community-
acquired and nosocomial infections. P. aeruginosa possesses an intrinsic high-level antibiotic
resistance due a naturally low permeable outer membrane (1/100 of E. coli outer membrane). It
makes the bacterium resistant to many classes of antibiotics [
8
]. Together with impermeability,
the low susceptibility of P. aeruginosa to
β-lactam antibiotics results from the overexpression
of the intrinsic AmpC cephalosporinase, and the acquisition of extended-spectrum
β-lacta-
mases, of metallo-carbapenemases, and extended spectrum oxacillinases [
10
].
In addition, the inherent resistance of P. aeruginosa is, to a great extent, due to an active
efflux of a broad spectrum of molecules. This efflux is mediated by three-component systems
that belong to the Resistance Nodulation cell Division family of transporters (RND). MexA-
B-OprM and MexXY-OprM are the most studied [
11
–
13
] and the most prevalent in clinical
isolates [
14
]. MexAB-OprM is constitutively expressed and confers the ability to export several
classes of drugs [
15
]. The expression of MexXY-OprM contributes to both intrinsic and
acquired resistance [
16
], and this resistance can be induced by antibiotics such as tetracyclines
and macrolides [
16
].
In an on-going project dedicated to the synthesis of new biologically active molecules, we
identified several polyamino-isoprenic derivatives that were able to decrease chloramphenicol-
and nalidixic acid-resistance levels of multi-drug-resistant Enterobacterial strains [
17
].
In the present study, we describe the use of this chemical library to screen chemosensitizers
that could lower the MIC of doxycycline on P. aeruginosa under the threshold of susceptibility.
We also present data supporting the concept that polyamino-isoprenic compounds potentiate
doxycycline
’s action by circumventing the intrinsic resistance.
Materials and Methods
Bacterial strains and growth conditions
The P. aeruginosa strains used in this study are described in
Table 1
. In addition, a series of 20
clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa obtained from the Hôpital d
’Instruction des Armées Laveran,
HIA-Laveran (Marseille, France) were also used in this study (
S1 Table
). Strains were stored at
-80°C in 15% (v/v) glycerol for cryo-protection. Bacteria were routinely maintained on Muel-
ler-Hinton (MH) agar plates and grown in cation-adjusted MH broth (MHBII) at 37°C.
Inhibitors of Antibiotic Resistance in Pseudomonas
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Antibiotics and chemicals
The antibiotics doxycycline, polymyxin-B polymyxin-B nonapeptide (PMBN) and chloram-
phenicol and Phenylalanine-Arginine Beta-Naphthylamide (PAßN), carbonyl cyanide m-
chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), 4-(2-hydro-
xyethyl)piperazine-1-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) and benzalkonium chloride were purchased
from Sigma (St Quentin Fallavier, France). EDTA was from Fisher-Scientific (Quichy-le-châ-
teau, France) The antibiotic imipenem was purchased from Pharmacopeia (USA). They were
dissolved in water or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as indicated. The polyamino-isoprenic deriv-
atives were described previously [
18
]. They were dissolved in DMSO and stored at -20°C until
use.
Antibiotic susceptibility testing
Assays were carried out in 96-well microtiter plates using a two-fold standard broth micro-
dilution method, as previously described [
19
]. Experiments were performed on the BAC-SC-
REEN platform of the UMR-MD1, with a Freedom EVO 150 liquid handling system (Tecan,
Lyon, France). The MIC of doxycycline, chloramphenicol and of the 4 compounds for each
strain is given in
Table 1
.
High-content screening
The polyamino-isoprenic compounds library [
18
] was screened against the P. aeruginosa PA01
reference strain (
Table 1
) in the presence of 4 mg/L doxycycline that corresponds to the con-
centration under the threshold of resistance according to the CLSI guidelines, in order to evalu-
ate if one of the compound is able to decrease the intrinsic resistance of P. aeruginosa. For
further experiments we decided to reduce the concentration of doxycycline at 2mg/L to
increase the stringency of the tests. Indeed, this concentration corresponds to the threshold of
the susceptibility according to the CLSI. The screening was carried out in 96-well microtiter
plates using MHBII, in a final volume of 200
μL. The concentration of library compounds was
10
μM, with a final DMSO concentration of 2.5%. The bacterial inoculum of 5×10
5
CFU/mL
was prepared from an overnight culture. In addition to the polyamino-isoprenic compounds,
each plate contained PAßN, CCCP, CTAB, polymyxin-B and benzalkonium chloride as con-
trol molecules. Plates were incubated at 37°C under aerobic conditions for 18 hours. Plates
were read at 600 nm on an Infinite M200 Pro plate reader (Tecan). Results are summarized in
S1 Fig
.
Table 1. Strains used in this study and their susceptibilities to doxycycline, chloramphenicol, and the compounds 1
–4.
Strains
Relevant phenotype
Source and reference
Minimal Inhibitory Concentration mg/L (
μM)*
DOX
CHL
1
2
3
4
PA01
wt
P. Plésiat [
20
]
32
256
> 85 (>250)
> 81 (>250)
25 (62.5)
49 (125)
PT629
Mex AB overproducer
P. Plésiat [
21
]
>32
512
> 85 (>250)
> 81 (>250)
25 (62.5)
49 (125)
PA01 ERY
R
Mex CD overproducer
P. Plésiat [
22
]
16
256
> 85 (>250)
> 81 (>250)
25 (62.5)
25 (62.5)
PA0-7H
Mex EF overproducer
P. Plésiat [
23
]
>32
>1024
85 (250)
> 81 (>250)
25 (62.5)
49 (125)
CMZ091
Mex XY overproducer
P. Plésiat [
24
]
32
256
85 (250)
> 81 (>250)
25 (62.5)
49 (125)
FB1
Mex B deleted
P. Plésiat [
25
]
32
8
85 (250)
> 81 (>250)
25 (62.5)
49 (125)
DOX, doxycycline; CHL, chloramphenicol.
* Results are the mean of 3 independent experiments.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0154490.t001
Inhibitors of Antibiotic Resistance in Pseudomonas
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Comparison of efficiency between compounds and PAßN
Serial dilutions of each compound (from 270
μM to 0.95 μM for PAßN and from 135 μM to
0.06
μM for 3) were prepared in microplates. Doxycycline (2 mg/L) was then added to each
well before inoculation of bacteria (5x10
5
cfu/mL). Optical density (600 nm) was measured
after 18 hours at 37°C. Only the relevant part of the graphs are shown. Experiments were per-
formed in triplicate.
Checkerboard assay
Serial two-fold dilutions of antimicrobial agents were mixed together in a microtiter plate. The
range of concentration of each drug was twice the MIC, down to the eleventh serial two-fold dilu-
tions below this amount. Doxycycline was serially diluted along the X-axis, and the polyamino-
isoprenic compound or PAßN was diluted along the Y-axis as indicated. Each well was inoculated
with a bacterial inoculum of 5 x 10
5
CFU/ml, and the plates were incubated at 37°C for 18 h
under aerobic conditions. Each plate also contained a row and a column in which a serial dilution
of polyamino-isoprenic compound or doxycycline, respectively, was present alone to determine
the MIC. The FIC index was calculated as follows: FIC index = FIC A + FIC B, where FIC A is the
MIC of drug A in the combination/MIC of drug A alone and FIC B is the MIC of drug B in the
combination/MIC of drug B alone. The combination was considered synergistic when the FIC
index is
0.5, and antagonistic when the FIC index is > 4 [
26
]. Results are described in
S2 Table
.
Effect of combined antibiotics
–polyamino-isoprenic derivatives
MH agar plates were prepared, containing 2 mg/L doxycycline and 2 mg/L doxycycline in com-
bination with compounds at a concentration of 10
μM. Bacteria, 5 μL of a suspension of each
clinical isolate adjusted to 5 x 10
5
colony-forming units per ml were spotted on each plate and
growth was monitored after a 18 h period of incubation at 37°C. The isolates that repeatedly
grown on the plates containing doxycycline alone and compound alone but that did not grow
on both doxycycline and compound, were identified as susceptible of the combination.
In a second experiment, 5
μL of logarithmic dilutions of an overnight culture of the 6 strains
described in
Table 1
were spotted on the MH agar plates prepared as above. An additional
assay was also performed with these 6 strains using chloramphenicol as antibiotic instead of
doxycycline.
Outer membrane permeation assay
An overnight culture of PA01 was diluted 100-fold into 10 ml MHII broth containing 0.01
μg/
ml of imipenem to induce a higher level of
β-lactamases. After reaching an OD600 nm of 0.5,
cells were recovered by centrifugation (4,000 X g for 20 min) and washed twice in 20 mM
potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) supplemented with 1 mM MgCl
2
(PPB) at an OD 600
nm of 0.5. 50
μl of each compound was added to 100 μl of the cell suspension, yielding final
concentrations ranging from 125
μM to 15.6 μM. Then, 50 μl of nitrocefin was added to obtain
a final concentration of 50
μg/ml. Absorbance at 490 nm was monitored by spectrophotometry
using an Infinite M200 microplate reader (Tecan) over 60 min. Experiments were performed
in triplicate. For each compound, the efficacy of permeation was determined using the slope in
the linear range, relatively to the slope obtained with 250
μM polymyxin-B.
Real-time efflux assay
The experiments were performed as previously described [
17
] with slight modifications. For
each strain, 20 mL of MHII was inoculated with a single colony from a fresh plate and grown at
Inhibitors of Antibiotic Resistance in Pseudomonas
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0154490
May 6, 2016
4 / 16
37°C to the stationary phase. The cells were then recovered by centrifugation (4,000 X g for 20
min) and washed once in 20 mM PPB. They were then loaded over night with the dye 1,2
’-
dinaphthylamine (TCI-Europe SA, Zwijndrecht, Belgium) at a final concentration of 32
μM, in
the presence of 5
μM CCCP. The cell suspension was then recovered by centrifugation (4,000 X
g for 20 min) and re-suspended in the same volume of PPB and adjusted to an OD600 nm of
0.5. In a 96-well Greiner black microplate (Greiner, Courtaboeuf, France), a gradient of inhibi-
tor (when used) was prepared in PPB, and bacteria were added (100
μL per well). The fluores-
cence of the cell suspension, was monitored each 22 sec during 1200 sec on an Infinite M200
microplate reader (Tecan; excitation wavelength 370 nm and emission wavelength 420 nm). In
order to trigger the transport, glucose (50 mM final concentration) is added at 200 sec. The
maximum efficacy of the efflux is the difference between the value obtained without and with
glucose addition after 1200 sec. For each compound, the efficiency of efflux inhibition is calcu-
lated as the difference between the maximum efficacy of transport and the residual transport
obtained at various concentrations of the compound.
Cytotoxicity assessment
CHO-K1 cells (ATCC-LGC Standards Sarl (Molsheim, France) and human fibroblasts (Clinis-
ciences, Paris, France) were maintained in McCoy
’s 5A and DMEM media, respectively, sup-
plemented with 10% bovine calf serum, 2 mM glutamine, and 100 U/mL/10
μg/mL penicillin/
streptomycin. They were incubated at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere containing 5% CO
2
.
The cell lines were seeded in 96-well plates and incubated overnight. The cytotoxic effects of
compounds were assessed by the colorimetric WST-1 cell proliferation assay as previously
described [
17
]. Briefly, a range of compound concentrations from 30
μM to 1200 μM was
added to triplicate cultures, and cells were incubated at 37°C for 24 h. At the end of the incuba-
tion period, cultures were washed three times with phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and incu-
bated in fresh culture medium containing 10% WST-1 for an additional 30 min. Cell viability
was evaluated by measuring the WST-1 absorbance at 450 nm in a microplate spectrophotom-
eter MRX1 II (Dynex technologies, Chantilly, VA, USA). The Inhibitory Concentration 50%
(IC
50
) was chosen to evaluate the cytotoxicity of compounds. IC
50
was defined as the concen-
tration of a compound that induced a 50% decrease in viable cells. Doxorubicin was used as a
positive control.
Statistical analysis
Data were analyzed using the student t-test analysis for differences between two groups, and
findings were expressed as mean + SD. All assays included 2 replicates and were repeated in at
least 2 independent experiments. A p value
< 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
Results
Selection of polyamino-isoprenic compounds
A series of 60 compounds, which were described [
18
], were tested at a concentration of 10
μM
in combination with a sub-inhibitory concentration of doxycycline against the reference strain
of P. aeruginosa PA01. In parallel, we evaluated the intrinsic antimicrobial activity of these
compounds alone to allow the selection of only doxycycline adjuvants. The results are summa-
rized in
S1 Fig
. Under these conditions, three compounds, 2
–4 (
Fig 1
), were able to decrease
the MIC of PA01 for doxycycline below the threshold of resistance (4 mg/L), [
27
]. Interest-
ingly, these three compounds share similar structures with however, very distinct LogD values
(
Fig 1
). Compounds 2 and 4 share the same polyamine and only differ in their isoprenyl
Inhibitors of Antibiotic Resistance in Pseudomonas
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May 6, 2016
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moiety. Conversely, 3 and 4 share the same isoprenyl group and differ in their polyamines. In
the subsequent experiments, we also considered compound 1, which has the same isoprenyl
group as 2 and the same polyamine as 3 but did not show any significant synergy.
Cytotoxicity of the selected compounds
The cytotoxicity on Chinese Hamster Ovary cells and human normal fibroblasts, was deter-
mined using the metabolic WST1 assay for the four compounds (
Table 2
). Compound 1
appeared to be the least cytotoxic on both cell lines, with values ranging from 20 times for the
CHO to 10 times for human fibroblasts compared with the positive control, the doxorubicin.
Compounds 2 and 3 showed similar values that were lower than those of 1 but still clearly
above those of doxorubicin for the CHO cell line. Compared with 2 and 3, compound 4 exhib-
ited the same toxicity on CHO cells and lower toxicity on human fibroblasts.
Efficacy comparison of the selected compounds
PA01 is a well-studied reference strain of P. aeruginosa, however to extend our study we consid-
ered strains recently isolated from hospitalized patients [
21
–
25
]. Thus, we decided to test this
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