Analysis of Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity
of Human Milk Lactoferrin Compared to Bovine Lactoferrin against Multidrug
Resistant and Susceptible Acinetobacter baumannii Clinical Isolates
posted on 2021-06-09, 15:35authored byTyra M. Avery, RaNashia L. Boone, Jacky Lu, Sabrina K. Spicer, Miriam A. Guevara, Rebecca E. Moore, Schuyler A. Chambers, Shannon D. Manning, Leon Dent, Dana Marshall, Steven M. Damo, Steven D. Townsend, Jennifer A. Gaddy
Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic
bacterial pathogen that causes severe infections in immunocompromised
patients. The emergence of multi- and pan-drug resistant strains of A. baumannii from clinical sources has confounded
treatment and enhanced morbidity and mortality associated with these
infections. One way that A. baumannii circumnavigates environmental and antimicrobial challenge is by
forming tertiary architectural structures of cells known as biofilms.
Biofilm-inhibiting molecules could be deployed as a potential chemotherapeutic
strategy to inhibit or disrupt A. baumannii biofilms and mitigate adverse outcomes due to infection. Lactoferrin
is an innate immune glycoprotein produced in high concentrations in
both human and bovine milk which has previously been shown to have
antibacterial and antibiofilm activities. We sought to test lactoferrin
against a bank of clinical isolates of A. baumannii to determine changes in bacterial growth or biofilm formation. Our
results indicate that human lactoferrin has slightly more potent antibacterial
activities than bovine lactoferrin against certain strains of A. baumannii and that these effects are associated
with anatomical site of isolation. Additionally, we have shown that
both bovine and human lactoferrin can inhibit A. baumannii biofilm formation and that these effects are associated with anatomical
site of isolation and whether the strain forms robust or weak biofilms.