From Bench to Bedside: A Comprehensive Study on Pardaxin Peptide's Antimicrobial Effect on Escherichia coli, Including Clinical Isolates.

Abstract

Escherichia coli is a common cause of urinary tract infections and has shown increasing resistance to available antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial peptides, such as Pardaxin, offer a potential alternative to traditional antibiotics due to their ability to disrupt bacterial cell membranes through interaction with the lipid bilayer. This mode of action reduces the likelihood of resistance development compared to conventional antibiotics that target specific cellular processes. The objective of this study was to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of the Pardaxin peptide against both standard and clinical strains of E. coli. E. coli ATCC 25922 was used as the standard strain, and 20 samples derived from patients were included in the study. Isolation and identification of E. coli were performed using enrichment media, selective media, and biochemical tests. Bacterial cultures were conducted on Mueller-Hinton agar, and the antimicrobial effect of the Pardaxin peptide was assessed using classic disk diffusion tests. During the disk diffusion test, a distinct area of no growth was observed surrounding the Pardaxin disks for both the standard and clinical strains. In the microdilution test, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Pardaxin was found to be 390 µg/ml for the clinical strain and 450 µg/ml for the standard strain. These concentrations are comparable to the 500 µg/ml concentration of erythromycin, indicating the antibacterial properties of Pardaxin against E. coli. The results of this study provide evidence for the antimicrobial properties of the Pardaxin peptide against both standard and clinical strains of E. coli.