Activity of antibacterial protein from maggots against Staphylococcus aureus in vitro and in vivo

Zhang,Zhen; Wang,Jiangning; Zhang,Bo; Liu,Huanran; Song,Wei; He,Jiao; Lv,Decheng; Wang,Shouyu; Xu,Xiaoguang

doi:10.3892/ijmm.2013.1291

Activity of antibacterial protein from maggots against Staphylococcus aureus in vitro and in vivo

Authors:
- Zhen Zhang
- Jiangning Wang
- Bo Zhang
- Huanran Liu
- Wei Song
- Jiao He
- Decheng Lv
- Shouyu Wang
- Xiaoguang Xu
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Affiliations: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116011, P.R. China, Department of Reparative and Reconstructive Surgery, Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101100, P.R. China, Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116011, P.R. China, Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116011, P.R. China, Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116027, P.R. China
Published online on: March 5, 2013 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2013.1291
Pages: 1159-1165

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Abstract

Maggots (larvae of Lucilia sericata) have shown therapeutic effects on refractory wounds infected with bacteria, yet the bacterial killing mechanisms are unclear. Herein, we report the isolation and purification of an antibacterial protein from maggots (MAMP). MAMP demonstrated inhibitory activity against both standard strains and clinically isolated antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus in vitro. The topical use of MAMP effectively decreased the viability of S. aureus and promoted wound healing in an S. aureus mouse skin infection model. MAMP exerted its antibacterial activity via a bactericidal mechanism based on observations using scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy. MAMP interacted with the bacterial cell membrane and disrupted the cell surface structure. In addition, MAMP had weak hemolytic activity at a high concentration. Taken together, MAMP exhibits potential use as a topical agent for treating bacterial infections.

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