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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1440658
This article is part of the Research Topic Biofilm Inhibitors Against ESKAPE Pathogens View all 3 articles

PCL-gelatin honey scaffolds promote Staphylococcus aureus agrA expression in biofilms with Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Provisionally accepted
Genevieve M. Hilliard Genevieve M. Hilliard 1Thomas S. Wilkinson Thomas S. Wilkinson 2Llinos G. Harris Llinos G. Harris 2Rowena E. Jenkins Rowena E. Jenkins 2Laurie P. Shornick Laurie P. Shornick 1*
  • 1 Saint Louis University, St. Louis, United States
  • 2 Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Bacterial infection and biofilm formation contribute to impaired healing in chronic diabetic wounds. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are found in human diabetic wound biofilms. They may develop antibiotic resistance, increasing the urgency for alternative or complementary therapies. Diabetic wound healing may be improved with the use of biomedically engineered scaffolds, which can also serve as delivery systems for antibacterial compounds. Manuka honey is a potent antibacterial and wound care agent due to its high osmolarity, low pH, and constituents (such as methylglyoxal). Honey exhibits bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects, modulates the expression of biofilm forming genes, and restores antibiotic susceptibility in previously drug resistant pathogens. In this study, we created a dermal regeneration template (DRT) composed of polycaprolactone-gelatin (PCL-gelatin) and Manuka honey to retain honey in the wound and also provide a scaffold for tissue regeneration. Soluble Manuka honey inhibited the planktonic and biofilm growth of both S. aureus (UWH3) and P. aeruginosa (PA14) co-cultures. Manuka honey embedded PCL-gelatin scaffolds did not exhibit bacteriostatic or bactericidal effects on co-cultures of UHW3 and PA14; however, they promoted the expression of AgrA, a gene associated with dispersal of S. aureus biofilms.

    Keywords: Biofilm, Honey, Bacteria, Wound Care, ESKAPE pathogens

    Received: 29 May 2024; Accepted: 16 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hilliard, Wilkinson, Harris, Jenkins and Shornick. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Laurie P. Shornick, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.