Key Laboratory of Zoonosis, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China.
Molecules. 2011 Sep 15;16(9):7958-68. doi: 10.3390/molecules16097958.
Staphylococcus aureus causes a broad range of life-threatening diseases in humans. The pathogenicity of this micro-organism is largely dependent upon its virulence factors. One of the most extensively studied virulence factors is the extracellular protein α-toxin. In this study, we show that allicin, an organosulfur compound, was active against S. aureus with MICs ranged from 32 to 64 μg/mL. Haemolysis, Western blot and real-time RT-PCR assays were used to evaluate the effects of allicin on S. aureus α-toxin production and on the levels of gene expression, respectively. The results of our study indicated that sub-inhibitory concentrations of allicin decreased the production of α-toxin in both methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the transcriptional levels of agr (accessory gene regulator) in S. aureus were inhibited by allicin. Therefore, allicin may be useful in the treatment of α-toxin-producing S. aureus infections.
金黄色葡萄球菌可引起人类多种危及生命的疾病。该微生物的致病性在很大程度上取决于其毒力因子。其中研究最广泛的毒力因子之一是细胞外蛋白α-毒素。在本研究中，我们发现有机硫化合物大蒜素对金黄色葡萄球菌具有活性，MIC 范围为 32 至 64μg/ml。溶血实验、Western blot 和实时 RT-PCR 实验分别用于评估大蒜素对金黄色葡萄球菌α-毒素产生的影响以及基因表达水平的影响。研究结果表明，亚抑菌浓度的大蒜素可剂量依赖性地降低耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MSSA）和耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）中α-毒素的产生。此外，大蒜素还可以抑制金黄色葡萄球菌的 agr（辅助基因调节子）转录水平。因此，大蒜素可能对治疗产α-毒素的金黄色葡萄球菌感染有用。
