• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.357-366
• /
• 2015

Quorum sensing (QS) is involved in the process of cell-to-cell communication and as a gene regulatory mechanism, which has been implicated in bacterial pathogenicity. Bacteria use this QS system to control a variety of physiological processes. In this study, pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) peel extract (PPE) was first screened for its ability to inhibit QS in bio-reporter strains (Chromobacterium violaceum and C. violaceum CV026). Next, the ability of PPE to inhibit swimming motility and biofilm formation was examined in Y. enterocolitica. Additionally, changes in the expression of specific genes involved in the synthesis of the N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs; yenI and yenR) and in the flagellar regulon (fliA, fleB and flhDC) were evaluated by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. The results show that PPE specifically inhibited and reduced QS-controlled violacein production by 78.5% in C. violaceum CV026, and decreased QS-associated biofilm formation and swimming motility in Y. enterocolitica without significantly affecting bacterial growth. These inhibitory effects were also associated with the down-regulation of gene expression involved in the synthesis of AHLs and in motility. Our results suggest that PPE could be a potential therapeutic agent to prevent enteropathogens in humans, as well as highlight the need to further investigate the in vivo properties of PPE for clinical applications.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.248-257
• /
• 2009

The inhibitors against Vibrio harveyi quorum sensing (QS) signaling were developed by modifying the molecular structure of the major signal, N-3-hydroxybutanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (3-OH-$C_4$-HSL). A series of structural derivatives, N-(3-hydroxysulfonyl)-L-homoserine lactones (HSHLs) were synthesized by the solid-phase organic synthesis method. The in vivo QS inhibition by these compounds was measured by a bioassay system using the V. harveyi bioluminescence, and all showed significant inhibitory effects. To analyze the interaction between these compounds and LuxN, a 3-OH-$C_4$-HSL receptor protein of V. harveyi, we tentatively determined the putative signal binding domain of LuxN based on the sequence homology with other acyl-HSL binding proteins, and predicted the partial 3-D structure of the putative signal binding domain of LuxN by using ORCHESTRA program, and further estimated the binding poses and energies (docking scores) of 3-OH-$C_4$-HSL and HSHLs within the domain. In comparison of the result from this modeling study with that of in vivo bioassay, we suggest that the in silica interpretation of the interaction between ligands and their receptor proteins can be a valuable way to develop better competitive inhibitors, especially in the case that the structural information of the protein is limited.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 2020

The skin is colonized by a large number of microorganisms with a stable composition of species. However, disease states of skin such as acne vulgaris, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis have specific microbiome compositions that are different from those of healthy skin. The target modulation of the skin microbiome can be a potential treatment for these skin diseases. Quorum sensing (QS), a bacterial cell-cell communication system, can control the survival of bacteria and increase cell density. Also, QS affects the pathogenicity of bacteria such as biofilm formation and protease production. In this study, we confirmed anti-QS activity of Amorepacific patented ingredients, which are Lactobacillus ferment lysate (using Lactobacillus plantarum APsulloc 331261, KCCM 11179P) through bio-reporter bacterial strain Chromobacterium violaceum. The purple pigment production of C. violaceum controlled by QS was reduced 27.3% by adding 10 ㎍/mL of Lactobacillus ferment lysate (freeze dried). In addition, the Lactobacillus ferment lysate increased growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis 12% and decreased growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 38.5% and its biofilm formation 17.7% at a concentration of 10 ㎍/mL compared to the untreated control group. Moreover, S. epidermidis was co-cultured with the representative dermatological bacterium Staphylococcus aureus in the same genus, the growth of S. epidermidis was increased 134 % and the growth of S. aureus was decreased 13%. These results suggest that fermented lysate using Lactobacillus plantarum APsulloc 331261 may be useful as a cosmetic ingredient that can control the balance of skin microbiome.