Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Serratiochelins A and B from Serratia marcescens show xenosiderophoric characteristics towards Acinetobacter baumannii and Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Peter M Eze^1,2 , Viktor Simons², Tino Seidemann², Lin Wang², Anna-Lene Kiffe-Delf², Marian Frank², Lasse van Geelen², Chika C Abba³, Charles O Esimone⁴, Festus BC Okoye³, Rainer Kalscheuer²

¹Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences and Technology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Nigeria; ²Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany; ³Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Agulu Campus, Nigeria; ⁴Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Agulu Campus, Nigeria.

For correspondence:- Peter Eze Email: pm.eze@unizik.edu.ng

Accepted: 2 December 2021 Published: 30 December 2021

Citation: Eze PM, Simons V, Seidemann T, Wang L, Kiffe-Delf A, Frank M, et al. Serratiochelins A and B from Serratia marcescens show xenosiderophoric characteristics towards Acinetobacter baumannii and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Trop J Pharm Res 2021; 20(12):2551-2658 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v20i12.14

© 2021 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the xenosiderophoric properties of siderophores produced by Serratia marcescens towards Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Methods: A non-pigmented strain of S. marcescens was isolated from soil after cultivation in iron-limited LB medium. The isolate was identified using both biochemical and 16S rDNA molecular phylogenetic analyses. The bacterial secondary metabolites were extracted after solid state fermentation in sterile rice medium. The extract was separated using chromatography, and the resulting compounds were analyzed by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The iron-chelating, growth-promoting and cytotoxic activities of the compounds were determined using standard protocols.

Results: Two siderophore compounds (serratiochelins A and B) were isolated from the fermentation extract of S. marcescens. Characteristic of siderophores, serratiochelins A and B exhibited varying degrees of iron-chelating activities. The compounds displayed xenosiderophoric properties by supporting the growth of A. baumannii and M. tuberculosis in iron-limited media. In addition, the siderophores displayed cytotoxic activity against human cells, with serratiochelin A showing the higher activity with IC50 of 3.20 and 6.26 µM against THP-1 and HEK-293 cells, respectively.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates the isolation of serratiochelins A and B from a soil-derived non-pigmented strain of S. marcescens. The siderophores support the growth of A. baumannii and M. tuberculosis, and thus, have prospects for development as sideromycins against these multidrug resistant (MDR) organisms.

Keywords: Serratia marcescens, Siderophores, Xenosiderophores, Serratiochelin, Sideromycins, Acinetobacter baumannii, Mycobacterium tuberculosis