AUTHOR=Wang Yiming , Zhang Yu , Song Xu , Fang Chunlin , Xing Rui , Liu Lu , Zhao Xinghong , Zou Yuanfeng , Li Lixia , Jia Renyong , Ye Gang , Shi Fei , Zhou Xun , Zhang Yingying , Wan Hongping , Wei Qin , Yin Zhongqiong 

TITLE=1,8-Cineole inhibits biofilm formation and bacterial pathogenicity by suppressing luxS gene expression in Escherichia coli

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.988245

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2022.988245

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p>In recent years, with frequent reports of multi-drug resistant strains, bacteria antibiotic resistance has become an increasingly serious health problem worldwide. One of the most promising ways for combating bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance is development of quorum-sensing (QS) interfering drugs. In this study, the results show that 1,8-cineole inhibited the expression of QS as well as the virulence genes in <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> O101 <italic>(E. coli</italic> O101<italic>)</italic> with a 65% inhibition rate against <italic>luxS</italic> gene. Therefore, we hypothesized that 1,8-cineole may inhibit the biofilm formation and reduce the pathogenicity of <italic>E. coli</italic> O101 by inhibiting the expression of <italic>luxS</italic> gene. To confirm our hypotheses, a <italic>luxS</italic> gene deleted <italic>E. coli</italic> O101 was constructed. The results show that the biofilm formation, motility, structure and pathogenicity of <italic>E. coli</italic> O101 were significantly inhibited following deletion of the <italic>luxS</italic> gene. In addition, the transcript levels of QS and virulence genes of <italic>E. coli</italic> O101 were also significantly down-regulated. Interestingly, 1,8-cineole no longer had a significant inhibitory effect on the related phenotype and gene expression of <italic>E. coli</italic> O101 without <italic>luxS</italic> gene. In conclusion, the results show that 1,8-cineole can affect bacterial biofilm formation and pathogenicity by suppressing the expression of <italic>luxS</italic> gene in <italic>E. coli</italic> O101, which could provide a new perspective for dealing with the biofilm problem of pathogenic bacteria.</p>