New β-Lactam Antibiotics and Ceragenins-A Study to Assess Their Potential in Treatment of Infections Caused by Multidrug-Resistant Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Background: The increasing number of infections caused by antibiotic resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa posed a very serious challenge for clinical practice. This standing is driving scientists to develop new antibiotics against these microorganisms. Methods: In this study, we measured the MIC/MBC values and estimated the ability of tested molecules to prevent bacterial biofilm formation to explore the effectiveness of beta lactam antibiotics ceftolozane/tazobactam, ceftazidime/avibactam, meropenem/vaborbactam, and ceragenins CSA-13, CSA-44, and CSA-131 against 150 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that were divided into five groups, based on their antibiotic resistance profiles to beta-lactams. Selected strains of microorganisms from each group were also subjected to prolonged incubations (20 passages) with ceragenins to probe the development of resistance towards those molecules. Cytotoxicity of tested ceragenins was evaluated using human red blood cell (RBCs) hemolysis and microscopy observations of human lung epithelial A549 cells after ceragenin treatment. Poloxamer 407 (pluronic F-127) at concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 5% was tested as a potential drug delivery substrate to reduce ceragenin toxicity. Results: Collected data proved that ceragenins at low concentrations are highly active against clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa regardless of their resistance mechanisms to conventional antibiotics. Ceragenins also show low potential for resistance development, high antibiofilm activity, and controlled toxicity when used together with poloxamer 407. Conclusion: This data strongly supports the need for further study directed to develop this group of molecules as new antibiotics to fighting infections caused by antibiotic resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that ceragenins exhibit high activity against clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with low potential for resistance development. When used in conjunction with poloxamer 407, ceragenins show controlled toxicity, supporting their potential development as new antibiotics to combat infections caused by antibiotic resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.