In vitro activities of antimicrobial peptides and ceragenins against Legionella pneumophila

Legionella pneumophila is a waterborne intracellular pathogenic bacterium, the most frequent cause of human legionellosis and a relatively common cause of community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia. Some legionellosis outbreaks are related to the presence of biofilms, which provide a reservoir for L. pneumophila strains. We investigated the in vitro activities of antibiotics; erythromycin and doxycycline, antimicrobial peptides AMPs; melittin, LL-37 and CAMA (cecropin A (1-7)- Melittin A (2-9) and ceragenins; CSA-8, CSA-13, CSA-44, CSA-131 and CSA-138 against L. pneumophila. Isolation of Legionella strains was conducted according to ISO 1998 Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) and minimum biofilm eradication concentrations (MBECs) were determined using microbroth dilution techniques. MIC ranges for melittin, LL-37, and CAMA were 0.25-1, 1-4, and 2-8 mu g ml(-1), respectively. MIC ranges for CSA-8, 13, 44, 131, and 138 were 0.5-2, 0.5-1, 1-4, 0.5-2, and 1-2 mu g ml(-1), respectively, and MBEC values for the ceragenins were 10-160 mu g ml(-1). These results demonstrate that AMPs and ceragenins display broad-spectrum, in vitro activity against L. pneumophila. In particular, CSA-8, CSA-13 and melittin gave the lowest MICs and MBCs. We also observed that ceragenins are active against established L. pneumophila biofilms.