Silver Nanoparticles Targeting the Drug Resistance Problem of Streptococcus dysgalactiae: Susceptibility to Antibiotics and Efflux Effect

Abstract

The present work is a continuation of our translational research focusing on the use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to solve the global problem of antibiotic resistance. In vivo fieldwork was done with 300 breeding farm cows with serous mastitis. Ex vivo assays revealed that after cow treatment with the antibiotic drug Spectromast LC™, S. dysgalactiae susceptibility to 31 antibiotics dropped by 22.9%, but after treatment with Argovit–C™ AgNPs, it was raised by 13.1%. This was explained by the fact that the percentage of isolates with an efflux effect after Spectromast LC treatment resulted in an 8% increase, while Argovit-C-treatment caused a 19% decrease. The similarity of these results to our previous results on S. aureus isolates from mastitis cows treated with the antibiotic drug Lactobay and Argovit–C™ AgNPs was shown. So, mastitis treatments with Argovit-C™ AgNPs can partially return the activity of antibiotics towards S. dysgalactiae and S. aureus, while, in contrast, treatments with antibiotic drugs such as Spectromast LC and Lactobay enhance bacterial resistance to antibiotics. The results of this work strengthen the hope that in the future the use of AgNPs as efflux pump inhibitors will recover the activity of antibiotics, and thus will preserve the wide spectrum of antibiotics on the market.