Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 12, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23659-y
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Research Grants Council of Hong Kong [17307017P, R7070-18, FHKU704/19]
- National Science Foundation of China [21671203]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study identifies 38 authentic Ag+-binding proteins in Staphylococcus aureus and captures a molecular snapshot of the dynamic bactericidal action of Ag. It validates that Ag can inhibit a key target in S. aureus through binding to catalytic His185, leading to enhanced antimicrobial efficacy and resensitization of MRSA to antibiotics. The multi-target mode of action of Ag endows its sustainable antimicrobial efficacy and provides a potential approach for combating antimicrobial resistance.
The rapid emergence of drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) poses a serious threat to public health globally. Silver (Ag)-based antimicrobials are promising to combat antibiotic resistant S. aureus, yet their molecular targets are largely elusive. Herein, we separate and identify 38 authentic Ag+-binding proteins in S. aureus at the whole-cell scale. We then capture the molecular snapshot on the dynamic action of Ag+ against S. aureus and further validate that Ag+ could inhibit a key target 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase through binding to catalytic His185 by X-ray crystallography. Significantly, the multi-target mode of action of Ag+ (and nanosilver) endows its sustainable antimicrobial efficacy, leading to enhanced efficacy of conventional antibiotics and resensitization of MRSA to antibiotics. Our study resolves the long-standing question of the molecular targets of silver in S. aureus and offers insights into the sustainable bacterial susceptibility of silver, providing a potential approach for combating antimicrobial resistance. Silver (Ag) has been used as an antimicrobial agent since a long time, but its molecular mechanism of action was not elucidated due to technical challenges. Here, the authors develop a mass spectrometric approach to identify the Ag-proteome in Staphylococcus aureus, and capture a molecular snapshot of the dynamic bactericidal mode of action of Ag through targeting multiple biological pathways.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available