Gaspar Carlos, Rolo Joana, Cerca Nuno, Palmeira-de-Oliveira Rita, Martinez-de-Oliveira José, Palmeira-de-Oliveira Ana
CICS-UBI-Health Sciences Research Center, University of Beira Interior, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal.
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal.
Pathogens. 2021 Feb 25;10(3):261. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10030261.
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most frequent vaginal infection worldwide. It is caused by the overgrowth of anaerobic vaginal pathogens such as spp. BV has been associated with the occurrence of dense multispecies biofilms on the vaginal mucosa. Treatment of biofilm-associated infections such as BV is challenging. In this study, we have tested the role of a quaternary ammonium compound, dequalinium chloride (DQC), in the eradication of spp. biofilms. The effects of the test substance on the biomass and the metabolic activity of the biofilm of spp. were assessed in vitro using a microtiter plate assay. In addition, the effect of DQC on the spp. biofilm was further assessed by using scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results showed that DQC was particularly effective in the destruction of BV-associated spp. biotypes, impacting both their biomass and metabolic activity. In addition, the disruption of biofilm architecture was evident and was probably caused by multiple mechanisms of action. We conclude that DQC is an antibiofilm agent and is able to efficiently destroy spp. BV-associated biofilms. Therefore, it is a valid option for BV therapy and has the potential to prevent BV recurrences.
细菌性阴道病（BV）是全球最常见的阴道感染。它是由阴道厌氧病原体（如 spp.）过度生长引起的。BV 与阴道黏膜上密集的多物种生物膜的形成有关。治疗如 BV 这种与生物膜相关的感染具有挑战性。在本研究中，我们测试了一种季铵化合物——地喹氯铵（DQC）在根除 spp. 生物膜中的作用。使用微量滴定板分析法在体外评估了受试物质对 spp. 生物膜的生物量和代谢活性的影响。此外，通过扫描电子显微镜和共聚焦激光扫描显微镜进一步评估了 DQC 对 spp. 生物膜的影响。结果表明，DQC 在破坏与 BV 相关的 spp. 生物型方面特别有效，对其生物量和代谢活性均有影响。此外，生物膜结构的破坏很明显，可能是由多种作用机制引起的。我们得出结论，DQC 是一种抗生物膜剂，能够有效破坏与 spp. BV 相关的生物膜。因此，它是 BV 治疗的一个有效选择，并且有预防 BV 复发的潜力。
