Synergy of the Bacteriocin AS-48 and Antibiotics against Uropathogenic Enterococci Montalbán López, Manuel Cebrián, Rubén Galera, Rosa Mingorance, Lidia Martín Platero, Antonio Manuel Valdivia Martínez, Dolores Eva Martínez Bueno, Manuel Maqueda Abreu, Mercedes Enterococcus VRE Virulence Antibiotic resistance Antimicrobial peptide The genus Enterococcus comprises a ubiquitous group of Gram-positive bacteria that can cause diverse health care-associated infections. Their genome plasticity enables easy acquisition of virulence factors as well as antibiotic resistances. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) and catheter-associated UTIs are common diseases caused by enterococci. In this study, Enterococcus strains isolated from UTIs were characterized, showing that the majority were E. faecalis and contained several virulence factors associated to a better colonization of the urinary tract. Their susceptibility against the bacteriocin AS-48 and several antibiotics was tested. AS-48 is a potent circular bacteriocin that causes bacterial death by pore formation in the cell membrane. The interest of this bacteriocin is based on the potent inhibitory activity, the high stability against environmental conditions, and the low toxicity. AS-48 was active at concentrations below 10 mg/L even against antibiotic-resistant strains, whereas these strains showed resistance to, at least, seven of the 20 antibiotics tested. Moreover, the e ect of AS-48 combined with antibiotics commonly used to treat UTIs was largely synergistic (with up to 100-fold MIC reduction) and only occasionally additive. These data suggest AS-48 as a potential novel drug to deal with or prevent enterococcal infections. 2020-12-04T12:33:38Z 2020-12-04T12:33:38Z 2020-09-02 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Rodríguez-Rodríguez, F., Huertas-Delgado, F. J., Barranco-Ruiz, Y., Aranda-Balboa, M. J., & Chillón, P. (2020). Are the Parents’ and Their Children’s Physical Activity and Mode of Commuting Associated? Analysis by Gender and Age Group. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(18), 6864. [doi:10.3390/antibiotics9090567] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/64676 10.3390/antibiotics9090567 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España Mdpi