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JAC Advance Access published online on January 13, 2005
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, doi:10.1093/jac/dkh545
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JAC © The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2005; all rights reserved
Received June 30, 2004
Revised September 28, 2004
Accepted November 19, 2004

Brief report

In vitro activity and killing effect of temporin A on nosocomial isolates of Enterococcus faecalis and interactions with clinically used antibiotics

Andrea Giacometti 1*, Oscar Cirioni 1, Wojciech Kamysz 2, Giuseppina D'Amato 1, Carmela Silvestri 1, Maria Simona Del Prete 1, Alberto Licci 1, Jerzy Lukasiak 2, and Giorgio Scalise 1

1 Institute of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
2 Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Andrea Giacometti, E-mail: anconacmi{at}interfree.it


  Abstract

Objective: To study the in vitro activity of temporin A, a basic, highly hydrophobic, antimicrobial peptide amide derived from the skin of the European red frog Rana temporaria, alone and in combination with co-amoxiclav, imipenem, ciprofloxacin, linezolid and vancomycin, against 42 nosocomial isolates of Enterococcus faecalis. Fourteen of these were resistant to vancomycin.

Methods: Antimicrobial activity of temporin A was measured by MIC, MBC and time-kill studies and by the chequerboard titration method.

Results: All isolates were inhibited at concentrations of 1 to 16 mg/L. Combination studies carried out with E. faecalis ATCC 29212 and ATCC 51299 demonstrated synergy only when the peptide was combined with co-amoxiclav and imipenem.

Conclusions: Our findings show that temporin A is active against E. faecalis and that its activity could be enhanced when it is combined with other antimicrobial agents.

Keywords: antimicrobial peptides; Gram-positive infections; susceptibility; antibiotic combinations; enterococci.
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