Predatory Bacteria Attenuate Klebsiella Pneumoniae Burden in Rat Lungs
Abstract
Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and Micavibrio aeruginosavorus are predatory bacteria that naturally and obligately - prey on other Gram-negative bacteria, and their use has been proposed as a potential new approach to control microbial infection.The ability of predatory bacteria to prey on Gram-negative human pathogens in vitro is well documented; however, the in vivo safety and efficacy of predatory bacteria have yet to be fully assessed. In this study, we examined whether predatory bacteria can reduce bacterial burden in the lungs in an in vivo mammalian system. Initial safety studies were performed by intranasal linoculation of rats with predatory bacteria. No adverse effects or lung pathology were observed in rats exposed to high concentrations of predatory bacteria at up to 10 days postinoculation. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of the immune response revealed a slight increase in inflammatory cytokine levels at 1 h postinoculation that was not sustained by 48 h. Additionally,dissemination experiments showed that predators were efficiently cleared from the host by 10 days postinoculation. To measure the ability of predatory bacteria to reduce microbial burden in vivo, we introduced sublethal concentrations of Kleb-siella pneumoniae into the lungs of rats via intranasal inoculation and followed with multiple doses of predatory bacteria over24 h. Predatory bacteria were able to reduce K. pneumoniae bacterial burden, on average, by more than 3.0 log10 in the lungs of most rats as measured by CFU plating. The work presented here provides further support for the idea of developing predatory bacteria as a novel biocontrol agent.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 08, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1059690
Entities
People
- Chi Tang
- Daniel E. Kadouri
- Eric Singleton
- Joseph Rinaggio
- Kenneth Shatzkes
- Michael Zuena
- Nancy D. Connell
- Onoyom Onyile
- Sean Shukla
- Shilpi Gupta
- Sonal Dharani
Organizations
- New Jersey Medical School