Article Contents
ARTICLE   Open Access     Cite

Prenylated flavonoids combat metabolically dormant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by targeting FarR

    Show all affliationsShow less
More Information
  • Corresponding authors: yangbao@scbg.ac.cn (B.Y.); jeffyah@163.com (Z.Y.)
  • DownLoad: Full size image
    1. A total of 44 prenylated flavonoids were evaluated for antimicrobial activity.

      3'-C-geranylphloretin (GP) kills multi drug resistant S. aureus (MRSA) persister and induces apoptosis-like cell death.

      GP activates the TCA cycle in S. aureus, disrupting fatty acid metabolism. FarR participates in GP-mediated bactericidal cell death.

      FarR is first reported as a critical regulator governing S. aureus persister cell development.

  • Antibiotic resistance and bacterial persistence threaten global health, with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) being a particularly challenging pathogen. In this work, 3'-C-geranylphloretin (GP), a prenylated phenolic compound, showed better bactericidal activity against dormant MRSA cells than vancomycin. It significantly decreased bacterial loads, lung index, and improved pathological deterioration mediated by MRSA infection in vivo, and showed good safety to normal mice. Bacterial clearance was directly observed by two-photon excitation microscopy. GP disrupted bacterial persistence by targeting the transcriptional regulator FarR, which activated fatty acid and energy metabolism. Besides, GP-induced cell membrane disruption and apoptosis-like cell death in MRSA are caused by chromosomal condensation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and caspase-3/7 activation. Our research holds potential for anti-persister drug development.
  • 加载中
  • [1] Guo Y., Song G., Sun M., et al. (2020). Prevalence and therapies of antibiotic-resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 10:107−118. DOI:10.3389/fcimb.2020.00107

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [2] Westgeest A. C., Hanssen J. L., de Boer M. G., et al. (2024). Eradication of community-onset Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage: A narrative review. Clin. Microbiol. 31:173−181. DOI:10.1016/j.cmi.2024.01.003

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [3] Peel T. N., Astbury S., Cheng A. C., et al. (2023). Trial of vancomycin and cefazolin as surgical prophylaxis in arthroplasty. N. Engl. J. Med. 389:1488−1498. DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa2301401

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [4] Garoy E. Y., Gebreab Y. B., Achila O. O., et al. (2019). Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): Prevalence and antimicrobial sensitivity pattern among patients—a multicenter study in asmara, eritrea. Can. J. Infect. Dis. Med. Microbiol. DOI:10.1155/2019/8321834.

    View in Article Google Scholar

    [5] Lee A. S., De Lencastre H., Garau J., et al. (2018). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Nat. Rev. Dis. Primers 4:1−23. DOI:10.1038/nrdp.2018.33

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [6] David M. Z., and Daum R. S. (2010). Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: epidemiology and clinical consequences of an emerging epidemic. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 23:616−687. DOI:10.1128/cmr.00081-09

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [7] Hasanpour A. H., Sepidarkish M., Mollalo A., et al. (2023). The global prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization in residents of elderly care centers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Antimicrob. Resist. Infect. Control. 12:4. DOI:10.1186/s13756-023-01210-6

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [8] Doyle J., Bachar R., Paul S., et al. (2024). Unmasking a menace: Methamphetamine, mrsa and an elusive abscess leading to pulmonic valve endocarditis. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 83:4418−4418. DOI:10.1016/S0735-1097(24)06408-8

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [9] Jones B. E., Ying J., Stevens V., et al. (2020). Empirical anti-MRSA vs standard antibiotic therapy and risk of 30-day mortality in patients hospitalized for pneumonia. JAMA Intern. Med. 180:552−560. DOI:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.7495

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [10] Bradley C. A. (2018). Disrupting MRSA'persisters'. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 17:394−394. DOI:10.1038/nrd.2018.84

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [11] Decollogny M., and Rottenberg S. (2024). Persisting cancer cells are different from bacterial persisters. Trends Cancer 10:5. DOI:10.1016/j.trecan.2024.02.002

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [12] Abebe A. A., and Birhanu A. G. (2023). Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus: molecular mechanisms underlying drug resistance development and novel strategies to combat. Infect. Drug Resist 16:7641−7662. DOI:10.2147/IDR.S428103

    View in Article Google Scholar

    [13] MacNair C. R., Rutherford S. T., and Tan M. (2024). Alternative therapeutic strategies to treat antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 22:262−275. DOI:10.1038/s41579-023-00993-0

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [14] Adefisoye M. A., and Olaniran A. O. (2023). Antimicrobial resistance expansion in pathogens: a review of current mitigation strategies and advances towards innovative therapy. JAC-AMR 5:127. DOI:10.1093/jacamr/dlad127

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [15] Nandhini P., Kumar P., Mickymaray S., et al. (2022). Recent developments in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) treatment: A review. Antibiotics 11:606. DOI:10.3390/antibiotics11050606

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [16] Vasudevan U. M., and Lee E. Y. (2020). Flavonoids, terpenoids, and polyketide antibiotics: Role of glycosylation and biocatalytic tactics in engineering glycosylation. Biotechnol. Adv. 41:107550. DOI:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107550

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [17] Puksasook T., Kimura S., Tadtong S., et al. (2017). Semisynthesis and biological evaluation of prenylated resveratrol derivatives as multi-targeted agents for Alzheimer’s disease. J. Nat. Med. 71:665−682. DOI:10.1007/s11418-017-1097-2

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [18] Zheng E. J., Valeri J. A., Andrews I. W., et al. (2024). Discovery of antibiotics that selectively kill metabolically dormant bacteria. Cell Chem. Biol. 31:712-728. e719. DOI:10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.10.026.

    View in Article Google Scholar

    [19] Wong F., Zheng E. J., Valeri J. A., et al. (2024). Discovery of a structural class of antibiotics with explainable deep learning. Nature 626:177−185. DOI:10.1038/s41586-023-06887-8

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [20] Mandakhalikar K. D., Rahmat J. N., Chiong E., et al. (2018). Extraction and quantification of biofilm bacteria: Method optimized for urinary catheters. Sci. Rep. 8:8069. DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-26342-3

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [21] Elgamoudi B. A., and Korolik V. (2023). A guideline for assessment and characterization of bacterial biofilm formation in the presence of inhibitory compounds. Bio-protoc 13:e4866. DOI:10.3390/antibiotics9110836

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [22] Huang X., Fan J., Li L., et al. (2018). Fast, long-term, super-resolution imaging with Hessian structured illumination microscopy. Nat. Biotechnol. 36:451−459. DOI:10.1038/nbt.4115

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [23] Zhao W., Zhao S., Li L., et al. (2022). Sparse deconvolution improves the resolution of live-cell super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Nat. Biotechnol. 40:606−617. DOI:10.1038/s41587-021-01092-2

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [24] Pu Y., Li Y., Jin X., et al. (2019). ATP-dependent dynamic protein aggregation regulates bacterial dormancy depth critical for antibiotic tolerance. Mol. Cell 73:143−156. DOI:10.1016/j.molcel.2018.10.022

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [25] Le P., Kunold E., Macsics R., et al. (2020). Repurposing human kinase inhibitors to create an antibiotic active against drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, persisters and biofilms. Nat. Chem. 12:145−158. DOI:10.1038/s41557-019-0378-7

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [26] Zhang N., Shan W., Gao L., et al. (2023). Repurposing the Hedgehog pathway inhibitor, BMS-833923, as a phosphatidylglycerol-selective membrane-disruptive colistin adjuvant against ESKAPE pathogens. Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents 62:106888. DOI:10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2023.106888

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [27] Yuan Z., Wang J., Qu Q., et al. (2023). Celastrol combats methicillin‐resistant staphylococcus aureus by targeting δ1‐pyrroline‐5‐carboxylate dehydrogenase. Adv. Sci. 10:2302459. DOI:10.1002/advs.202302459

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [28] Ueki H., Wang I., Fukuyama S., et al. (2018). In vivo imaging of the pathophysiological changes and neutrophil dynamics in influenza virus-infected mouse lungs. PNAS 115:E6622−E6629. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1806265115

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [29] Looney M. R., Thornton E. E., Sen D., et al. (2011). Stabilized imaging of immune surveillance in the mouse lung. Nat. Methods 8:91−96. DOI:10.1038/nmeth.1543

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [30] Luo J., Luo J., Sheng Z., et al. (2024). Latest research progress on anti-microbial effects, mechanisms of action, and product developments of dietary flavonoids: A systematic literature review. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 156:104839. DOI:10.1016/j.jpgs.2024.104839

    View in Article Google Scholar

    [31] Conlon B. P., Rowe S. E., Gandt A. B., et al. (2016). Persister formation in Staphylococcus aureus is associated with ATP depletion. Nat. Microbiol. 1:1−7. DOI:10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.51

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [32] Dwyer D. J., Camacho D. M., Kohanski M. A., et al. (2012). Antibiotic-induced bacterial cell death exhibits physiological and biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis. Mol. Cell 46:561−572. DOI:10.1016/j.molcel.2012.04.027

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [33] Pacios O., HerreraEspejo S., Armán L., et al. (2024). Mitomycin C as an anti-persister strategy against Klebsiella pneumoniae: toxicity and synergy studies. Antibiotics 13:815. DOI:10.3390/antibiotics13090815

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [34] Kwan B. W., Chowdhury N., and Wood T. K. (2015). Combatting bacterial infections by killing persister cells with mitomycin C. Environ. Microbiol. 17:4406−4414. DOI:10.1111/1462-2920.12873

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [35] Li B., Dou S., Yuan J., et al. (2018). Intracellular transport is accelerated in early apoptotic cells. PNAS 115:12118−12123. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1810017115

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [36] Manuse S., Shan Y., Canas S. J., et al. (2021). Bacterial persisters are a stochastically formed subpopulation of low-energy cells. PLOS Biol. 19:e3001194. DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001194

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [37] Jin X., Lee J., Schaefer C., et al. (2021). Membraneless organelles formed by liquid-liquid phase separation increase bacterial fitness. Sci. Adv. 7:eabh2929. DOI:10.1126/sciadv.abh2929

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [38] Mo Y., Wang K., Li L., et al. (2023). Quantitative structured illumination microscopy via a physical model-based background filtering algorithm reveals actin dynamics. Nat. Commun. 14:3089. DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-38808-8

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [39] Shan Y., Brown Gandt A., Rowe S. E., et al. (2017). ATP-dependent persister formation in Escherichia coli. MBio 8:1. DOI:10.1128/mbio.02267-16

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [40] Zhang Y., and Rock C. O. (2008). Membrane lipid homeostasis in bacteria. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 6:222−233. DOI:10.1038/nrmicro1839

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [41] Thomas S. S., Kalia N. P., and Pethe K. (2022). Turbidity-based MIC assay and characterization of spontaneous drug resistant mutants in mycobacterium ulcerans. Methods Protoc. 2387:209−217. DOI:10.1007/978-1-0716-1779-3_20

    View in Article Google Scholar

    [42] Alnaseri H., Kuiack R. C., Ferguson K. A., et al. (2019). DNA binding and sensor specificity of FarR, a novel TetR family regulator required for induction of the fatty acid efflux pump FarE in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 201:10.1128/jb. 00602-00618. DOI:10.1128/jb.00602-18.

    View in Article Google Scholar

    [43] Iram S. H., and Cronan J. E. (2005). Unexpected functional diversity among FadR fatty acid transcriptional regulatory proteins. J. Biol. Chem. 280:32148−32156. DOI:10.1074/jbc.M504054200

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [44] Wang Z., Zhu Y., Bai L., et al. (2024). A new therapeutic strategy for infectious diseases against intracellular multidrug-resistant bacteria. J. Control Release 375:467−477. DOI:10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.09.028

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [45] Huang J., Zhong X. F., and Gao Y. Z. (2024). New antibiotic against multi-drug resistant bacteria. Innov. Life 2:100057. DOI:10.59717/j.xinn-life.2024.100057

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [46] Wang L., Zhang Y., Xu J., et al. (2023). Listening to enteric bacteria from the perspective of antibiotic alternatives in animal husbandry. Innov. Life 1:100022-100021-100022-100014. DOI:10.59717/j.xinn-life.2023.100022.

    View in Article Google Scholar

    [47] Heo H. Y., Zou G., Baek S., et al. (2024). A methylazanediyl bisacetamide derivative sensitizes Staphylococcus aureus persisters to a combination of gentamicin and daptomycin. Adv. Sci. 11:2306112. DOI:10.1002/advs.202306112

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [48] Garrison A. T., Abouelhassan Y., Kallifidas D., et al. (2015). Halogenated phenazines that potently eradicate biofilms, MRSA persister cells in non‐biofilm cultures, and mycobacterium tuberculosis. Angew. Chem. 127:15032−15036. DOI:10.1002/ange.201508155

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [49] Bhattacharya M., and Horswill A. R. (2024). The role of human extracellular matrix proteins in defining Staphylococcus aureus biofilm infections. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 48:fuae002. DOI:10.1093/femsre/fuae002

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [50] Mao C., Xiang Y., Liu X., et al. (2019). Local photothermal/photodynamic synergistic therapy by disrupting bacterial membrane to accelerate reactive oxygen species permeation and protein leakage. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 11:17902−17914. DOI:10.1021/acsami.9b05787

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [51] Antonoplis A., Zang X., Huttner M. A., et al. (2018). A dual-function antibiotic-transporter conjugate exhibits superior activity in sterilizing MRSA biofilms and killing persister cells. J.Am.Chem.Soc. 140:16140−16151. DOI:10.1021/jacs.8b08711

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [52] Flores J., Dobihal G. S., Fenton A., et al. (2019). A switch in surface polymer biogenesis triggers growth-phase-dependent and antibiotic-induced bacteriolysis. Elife 8:e44912. DOI:10.7554/eLife.44912

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [53] Cheng M., Wu Y., Zeng H., et al. (2024). Asymmetric total synthesis of polycyclic xanthenes and discovery of a walK activator active against MRSA. Nat. Commun. 15:5879. DOI:10.1038/s41467-024-49629-8

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [54] Li J., Zhu K., Li C., et al. (2024). Alkaline shock protein 23 (Asp23)‐controlled cell wall imbalance promotes membrane vesicle biogenesis in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Extracell. Vesicles 13:e12501. DOI:10.1002/jev2.12501

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [55] Patel A., Malinovska L., Saha S., et al. (2017). ATP as a biological hydrotrope. Science 356:753−756. DOI:10.1126/science.aaf6846

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [56] Schramm F. D., Schroeder K., and Jonas K. (2020). Protein aggregation in bacteria. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 44:54−72. DOI:10.1093/femsre/fuz026

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [57] Saad S., Cereghetti G., Feng Y., et al. (2017). Reversible protein aggregation is a protective mechanism to ensure cell cycle restart after stress. Nat. Cell Biol. 19:1202−1213. DOI:10.1038/ncb3600

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [58] Schröder K. (2020). NADPH oxidases: Current aspects and tools. Redox Biol. 34:101512. DOI:10.1016/j.redox.2020.101512

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [59] Lebeaux D., Ghigo J., and Beloin C. (2014). Biofilm-related infections: bridging the gap between clinical management and fundamental aspects of recalcitrance toward antibiotics. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 78:510−543. DOI:10.1128/mmbr.00013-14

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [60] Zha Y., Chen C., Jiao Q., et al. (2024). Comprehensive profiling of antibiotic resistance genes in diverse environments and novel function discovery. Innov. Life 2:100054. DOI:10.59717/j.xinn-life.2024.100054.

    View in Article Google Scholar

    [61] Allison K. R., Brynildsen M. P., and Collins J. J. (2011). Metabolite-enabled eradication of bacterial persisters by aminoglycosides. Nature 473:216−220. DOI:10.1038/nature10069

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [62] Gollan B., Grabe G., Michaux C., et al. (2019). Bacterial persisters and infection: past, present, and progressing. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 73:359−385. DOI:10.1146/annurev-micro-020518-115650

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [63] Defraine V., Fauvart M., and Michiels J. (2018). Fighting bacterial persistence: current and emerging anti-persister strategies and therapeutics. Drug Resist. 38:12−26. DOI:10.1016/j.drup.2018.03.002

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [64] Kroemer G., Galluzzi L., and Brenner C. (2007). Mitochondrial membrane permeabilization in cell death. Physiol. Rev. 87:99−163. DOI:10.1152/physrev.00013.2006

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [65] Nn D. (2004). Cell death: critical control points. Cell 116:205−219. DOI:10.1016/S0092-8674(04)00046-7

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [66] Dyall S. D., Brown M. T., and Johnson P. J. (2004). Ancient invasions: from endosymbionts to organelles. Science 304:253−257. DOI:10.1126/science.1094884

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [67] Almutairy B. (2024). Extensively and multidrug-resistant bacterial strains: Case studies of antibiotics resistance. Front. Microbiol. 15:1381511. DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2024.1381511

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [68] Bonn C. M., Rafiqullah I. M., Crawford J. A., et al. (2023). Repeated emergence of variant TetR family regulator, FarR, and increased resistance to antimicrobial unsaturated fatty acid among clonal complex 5 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother 67:e00749−00722. DOI:10.1128/aac.00749-22

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [69] Pu Y., Li Y., Ma Q., et al. (2017). Dynamic protein aggregation regulates bacterial dormancy depth critical for antibiotic tolerance. bioRxiv:233890. DOI:10.1016/j.molcel.2018.10.022

    View in Article Google Scholar

    [70] Harms A., Maisonneuve E., and Gerdes K. (2016). Mechanisms of bacterial persistence during stress and antibiotic exposure. Science 354:6318. DOI:10.1126/science.aaf4268

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [71] Dwyer D. J., Belenky P. A., Yang J. H., et al. (2014). Antibiotics induce redox-related physiological alterations as part of their lethality. PNAS 111:E2100−E2109. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1401876111

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

    [72] O'neill J. (2014). Antimicrobial resistance: tackling a crisis for the health and wealth of nations. Rev. Antimicrob. Resist. 354:130949. DOI:10.14894/faruawpsj.51.5_464

    View in Article CrossRef Google Scholar

  • Cite this article:

    Sheng Z., Luo J., Gong A., et al. (2025). Prenylated flavonoids combat metabolically dormant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by targeting FarR. The Innovation Life 3:100154. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-life.2025.100154
    Sheng Z., Luo J., Gong A., et al. (2025). Prenylated flavonoids combat metabolically dormant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by targeting FarR. The Innovation Life 3:100154. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-life.2025.100154

Welcome!

To request copyright permission to republish or share portions of our works, please visit Copyright Clearance Center's (CCC) Marketplace website at marketplace.copyright.com.

Figures(8)    

Share

  • Share the QR code with wechat scanning code to friends and circle of friends.

Article Metrics

Article views(4262) PDF downloads(1983)

Relative Articles

Cited by

Catalog

    /

    DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint