posted on 2022-01-25, 08:29authored byVikram Pareek, Rinki Gupta, Stéphanie Devineau, Sathesh K. Sivasankaran, Arpit Bhargava, Mohd. Azeem Khan, Shabrinath Srikumar, Séamus Fanning, Jitendra Panwar
The
exceptional increase in antibiotic resistance in past decades
motivated the scientific community to use silver as a potential antibacterial
agent. However, due to its unknown antibacterial mechanism and the
pattern of bacterial resistance to silver species, it has not been
revolutionized in the health sector. This study deciphers mechanistic
aspects of silver species, i.e., ions and lysozyme-coated silver nanoparticles
(L-Ag NPs), against E. coli K12 through
RNA sequencing analysis. The obtained results support the reservoir
nature of nanoparticles for the controlled release of silver ions
into bacteria. This study differentiates between the antibacterial
mechanism of silver species by discussing the pathway of their entry
in bacteria, sequence of events inside cells, and response of bacteria
to overcome silver stress. Controlled release of ions from L-Ag NPs
not only reduces bacterial growth but also reduces the likelihood
of resistance development. Conversely, direct exposure of silver ions,
leads to rapid activation of the bacterial defense system leading
to development of resistance against silver ions, like the well-known
antibiotic resistance problem. These findings provide valuable insight
on the mechanism of silver resistance and antibacterial strategies
deployed by E. coli K12, which could
be a potential target for the generation of aim-based and effective
nanoantibiotics.