Polycationic peptides as prophylactic agents against methicillin-susceptible or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis vascular graft infection.

Abstract

Several polycationic peptides isolated from animals, plants, and bacterial species possess a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. A rat model was used to investigate the efficacies of two peptides, ranalexin and buforin II, in the prevention of vascular prosthetic graft infections. The effect of peptide-soaked collagen-sealed Dacron was compared to that of rifampin-soaked collagen-sealed Dacron in the rat model of graft infection caused by methicillin-susceptible rifampin-susceptible Staphylococcus epidermidis and methicillin-resistant rifampin-susceptible S. epidermidis. Graft infections were established in the back subcutaneous tissue of 240 adult male Wistar rats by implantation of 1-cm(2) Dacron prostheses, followed by topical inoculation with 2 x 10(7) CFU of S. epidermidis. The study included a control group (no graft contamination), two contaminated groups that did not receive any antibiotic prophylaxis, two contaminated groups to which perioperative intraperitoneal cefazolin prophylaxis (30 mg/kg of body weight) was administered, six contaminated groups that received a peptide- or rifampin-soaked graft, and six contaminated groups that received a peptide- or rifampin-soaked graft and perioperative intraperitoneal cefazolin prophylaxis (30 mg/kg). The grafts were sterilely removed 7 days after implantation, and the infection was evaluated by using sonication and quantitative agar culture. Overall, the efficacies of the polycationic peptides against the methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant strains were not significantly different from that of rifampin. Nevertheless, the combinations of ranalexin- and buforin II-coated grafts with cefazolin treatment demonstrated efficacies significantly higher than that of the combination of rifampin-coated grafts and cefazolin treatment against the methicillin-resistant strain.

• Authors: A Giacometti, O Cirioni, R Ghiselli, L Goffi, F Mocchegiani, A Riva, G Scalise, V Saba
• Journal: Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy (Antimicrob Agents Chemother) Vol. 44 Issue 12 Pg. 3306-9 (Dec 2000) ISSN: 0066-4804 [Print] United States
• PMID: 11083632 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
• Peptides, Cyclic
• Proteins
• buforin II
• ranalexin

Topics

• Animals
• Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Blood Vessel Prosthesis (adverse effects)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Male
• Methicillin Resistance
• Microbial Sensitivity Tests
• Peptides, Cyclic (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Prosthesis-Related Infections (microbiology, prevention & control)
• Proteins (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Rats
• Rats, Wistar
• Staphylococcal Infections (prevention & control)
• Staphylococcus epidermidis (drug effects)
• Surgical Wound Infection (prevention & control)