Investigation of potential anti-pneumococcal effects of l-sulforaphane and metabolites: Insights from synchrotron-FTIR microspectroscopy and molecular docking studies

Publication date: Available online 17 February 2020Source: Journal of Molecular Graphics and ModellingAuthor(s): Julia Liang, Anita Mantelos, Zheng Quan Toh, Stephanie M. Tortorella, Katherine Ververis, Jitraporn Vongsvivut, Keith R. Bambery, Paul V. Licciardi, Andrew Hung, Tom C. KaragiannisAbstractStreptococcus pneumoniae infection can lead to pneumococcal disease, a major cause of mortality in children under the age of five years. In low- and middle-income country settings where pneumococcal disease burden is high, vaccine use is low and widespread antibiotic use has led to increased rates of multi-drug resistant pneumococci. l-sulforaphane (LSF), derived from broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, has established anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-microbial properties. Hence, we sought to investigate the potential role of LSF against pneumococcal infection. Using a combination of in vitro and computational methods, the results showed that LSF and relevant metabolites had a potential to reduce pneumococcal adherence through modulation of host receptors, regulation of inflammation, or through direct modification of bacterial factors. Treatment with LSF and metabolites reduced pneumococcal adherence to respiratory epithelial cells. Synchrotron-Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (S-FTIR) revealed biochemical changes in protein and lipid profiles of lung epithelial cells following treatment with LSF or metabolites. Molecular docking studies of 116 pneumococ...
Source: Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research