Clin Lab. 2022 May 1;68(5). doi: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2021.210728.
Resistance to multiple drugs is one of the biggest challenges in managing infectious diseases. Acinetobacter baumannii is considered a nosocomial infection. According to the multiple roles of the toxin-antitoxin system, this system can be considered an antimicrobial target in the presence of bacteria. With the impact on bacterial toxin, it can be used as a new antibacterial target. The purpose of this study was to determine the mazEF genes as a potent antimicrobial target in A. baumannii clinical isolates.
The functionality of mazEF genes was evaluated by qPCR in fifteen A. baumannii clinical isolates. Then, the mazE locus was targeted by peptide nucleic acid (PNA).
The results showed a significant difference in the mean number of copies of mazF gene in normal and stress conditions. Also, we found that at a concentration of 15 µM of PNA the bacteria were killed and confirmed by culture on LB agar.
This research is the first step in introducing mazEF TA loci as a sensitive target in A. baumannii. However, more studies are needed to test the effectiveness in vivo. In addition, the occurrence and potential for activation of the TA system, mazEF in other pathogenic bacteria should be further investigated.
耐药性是传染病管理中面临的最大挑战之一。鲍曼不动杆菌被认为是一种医院获得性感染。根据毒素-抗毒素系统的多种作用，该系统在细菌存在的情况下可以被视为一种抗菌目标。通过影响细菌毒素，可以将其用作新的抗菌靶标。本研究旨在确定 mazEF 基因作为鲍曼不动杆菌临床分离株中的有效抗菌靶标。
通过 qPCR 在 15 株鲍曼不动杆菌临床分离株中评估 mazEF 基因的功能。然后，用肽核酸（PNA）靶向 mazE 基因座。
结果表明，正常和应激条件下 mazF 基因的平均拷贝数存在显著差异。此外，我们发现 PNA 的浓度为 15 µM 时，细菌被杀死，并通过 LB 琼脂上的培养得到证实。
这项研究是将 mazEF TA 基因座作为鲍曼不动杆菌敏感靶标的第一步。然而，需要更多的研究来测试体内的有效性。此外，还应进一步研究 TA 系统（mazEF）在其他致病菌中的发生和潜在激活情况。
