AUTHOR=Du Huamao , Wang Xiaoling , Zhang Hongying , Chen Heming , Deng Xiaoyu , He Yujing , Tang Huaze , Deng Fuchang , Ren Zhihong 

TITLE=Serum protein coating enhances the antisepsis efficacy of silver nanoparticles against multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli infections in mice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1153147

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1153147

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to public health and social development worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in treating multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Eco-friendly spherical AgNPs were synthesized using rutin at room temperature. The biocompatibility of both polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and mouse serum (MS)-stabilized AgNPs was evaluated at 20 μg/mL and showed a similar distribution in mice. However, only MS-AgNPs significantly protected mice from sepsis caused by the multidrug-resistant <italic>Escherichia coli (E. coli)</italic> CQ10 strain (<italic>p</italic> = 0.039). The data revealed that MS-AgNPs facilitated the elimination of <italic>Escherichia coli (E. coli)</italic> in the blood and the spleen, and the mice experienced only a mild inflammatory response, as interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, chemokine KC, and C-reactive protein levels were significantly lower than those in the control group. The results suggest that the plasma protein corona strengthens the antibacterial effect of AgNPs <italic>in vivo</italic> and may be a potential strategy for combating antimicrobial resistance.</p>