Sodium New Houttuyfonate Affects Transcriptome and Virulence Factors ofPseudomonas aeruginosaControlled by Quorum Sensing

As a major opportunistic pathogen,Pseudomonas aeruginosacan produce various virulence factors and form biofilms. These processes are controlled by the quorum sensing (QS) system. Sodium new houttuyfonate (SNH) is an adduct of houttuyfonate, the main component of the common Chinese medicine plant Houttuynia cordata, which has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. We evaluated the effect of SNH onP. aeruginosabiofilms, virulence factors, and transcription. Transcriptome analysis showed that the keyrhlIandpqsAgenes of theP. aeruginosaQS system were down-regulated after SNH treatment. SNH reduces proteases and pyocyanin production and inhibits biofilm formation by regulating theP. aeruginosaQS system. SNH also changes the expression of genes related to virulence factors and biofilms (lasA, lasB, lecA, phzM, pqsA, andpilG). These results suggested that the mechanism of SNH againstP. aeruginosaby affecting the expression of biofilm and virulence factors controlled by quorum sensing.