A novel anti-virulence approach using punicalagin to combat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is widespread in nature. Farm animals, such as pigs, cattle and poultry, are frequently colonized with MRSA, posing a severe threat to human health via their zoonotic transmission to humans by direct animal contact, environmental contamination, or livestock products. In this study, we identified a natural product, punicalagin (PA), that possesses potent antimicrobial activities by target screening of a key virulence factor crucial to bacterial attachment. Strong synergism between PA and an existing antibiotic led to a 99% reduction in bacterial load in major murine organs and completely protected mice infected by MRSA. Our findings demonstrate that as a natural product with a highly desired safety and bioavailability profile, PA presents a promising alternative to antimicrobial for its potent prophylactic and curative effects and can play an important role in mitigating antibiotic drug resistance.

耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）在自然界中广泛存在。农场动物，如猪、牛和家禽，常常被MRSA定植，通过直接动物接触、环境污染或畜产品的人畜共患病传播给人类，对人类健康构成严重威胁。在本研究中，我们通过针对细菌附着的关键致病因素进行靶标筛选，发现了一种天然产物——单宁酸（PA），它具有强大的抗菌活性。PA与现有抗生素的强协同作用导致主要小鼠器官中的细菌负荷减少了99%，并完全保护了感染MRSA的小鼠。我们的研究结果表明，作为一种具有高度理想的安全性和生物利用度特征的天然产物，PA作为抗菌药物的替代品展现出巨大的潜力，其强大的预防和治疗作用，在减轻抗生素耐药性方面可以发挥重要作用。