Resistance of nanobacteria isolated from urinary and kidney stones to broad-spectrum antibiotics
,
Abstract
Background and Objective: Nanoscopic life forms called Nanobacteria or calcifying nanoparticles (CNP) are unconventional agents. These novel organisms are very small (0.1 to 0.5 microns) and possess unusual properties such as high resistance to heat and routine antimicrobial agents. Nanobacteria are 100 times smaller than bacteria and protected by a shell of apatite, so they could be as candidate for emerging and progress of in vivo pathological calcification. In this study, the inhibitory effect of broad-spectrum antibiotics on growth of these new forms of life has been investigated.
Material and Methods: Powdered urinary and kidney stones were demineralized with HCl and neutralized with appropriate buffers and became filtered. Finally suspension was incubated in DMEM medium with Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) and broad-spectrum antibiotics (100U/ml for penicillin and 100µg/ml for streptomycin) for 60 days.
Results: In the presence of broad-spectrum antibiotics, Scanning Electron Micrographs (SEM) showed a spherical shape of these nanobacteria. Also, Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) showed a pick for calcium and phosphor. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) results illustrated cover around the nanobacteria.
Conclusion: The growth of calcifying nanoparticles after adding the broad-spectrum antibiotics may be due to their apatite hard shells supporting them against penetration of the antibiotics.
Ciftçioglu N, Björklund M, Kuorikoski K, Bergström K, Kajander EO. Nanobacteria: an infectious cause for kidney stone formation. Kidney International 1999; 56: 1893-1898.
Miller VM, Rodgers G, Charlesworth JA, Kirkland B, Severson SR, et al. Evidence of nanobacterial-like structures in calcified human arteries and cardiac valves. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2004;287:1115-24.
Ciftcioglu N, McKay DS, Mathew G, Kajander EO. Nanobacteria: fact or fiction? Characteristics, detection, and medical importance of novel self- replicating, calcifying nanoparticles. J Investig Med 2006; 54:385-94.
Kajander EO, Ciftcioglu N, Miller-Hjelle MA, Hjelle JT. Nanobacteria: controversial pathogens in nephrolithiasis and polycystic kidney disease. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens 2001;10:445-452.
Wen Y, Li YG, Yang ZL, Wang XJ, Wei H, et al. Detection of nanobacteria in serum, bile and gallbladder mucosa of patients with cholecystolithiasis. Chin Med J (Engl) 2005; 118:421-424.
Wood HM, Shoskes DA. The role of nanobacteria in urologic disease. World J Urol 2006;24:51-54.
López-Brea M, Selgas R. Nanobacteria as a cause of renal diseases and vascular calcifying pathology in renal patients (“endovascular lithiasis”). Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin 2000; 18:491-492.
Hudelist G, Singer CF, Kubista E, Manavi M, Mueller R, et al. Presence of nanobacteria in psammoma bodies of ovarian cancer: evidence for pathogenetic role in intratumoralbiomineralization. Histopathology 2004; 45:633-7.
GARROD LP. Relative antibacterial activity of three penicillins. Br Med J 1960;1:527-529.
Cíftçíoglu N, Miller-Hjelle MA, Hjelle JT, Kajander EO. Inhibition of nanobacteria by antimicrobial drugs as measured by a modified microdilution method. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2002;46:2077-2086.
Sharma D, Cukras AR, Rogers EJ, Southworth DR, Green R. Mutational analysis of S12 protein and implications for the accuracy of decoding by the ribosome. J Mol Biol 2007;374:1065-76.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 6 No 4 (2014) | |
| Section | Articles | |
| Keywords | ||
| Broad-spectrum antibiotics Nanobacteria kidney stones | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
