Yuan Liu: College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
Yuqian Jia: College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
Kangni Yang: College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
Ziwen Tong: College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
Jingru Shi: College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
Ruichao Li: College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
Xia Xiao: College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
Wenkai Ren: State key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
Rüdiger Hardeland: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
Russel J Reiter: Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, 78229 TX, USA.
Zhiqiang Wang: College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
Emergence, prevalence and widely spread of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance in Enterobacteriaceae strongly impairs the clinical efficacy of colistin against life-threatening bacterial infections. Combinations of antibiotics and FDA-approved non-antibiotic agents represent a promising means to address the widespread emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Herein, we investigated the synergistic activity between melatonin and antibiotics against MCR (mobilized colistin resistance)-positive Gram-negative pathogens through checkerboard assay and time-killing curve. Molecular mechanisms underlying its mode of action were elucidated. Finally, we assessed the efficacy of melatonin in combination with colistin against drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Melatonin, which has been approved for treating sleep disturbances and circadian disorders, substantially potentiates the activity of three antibiotics, particularly colistin, against MCR-expressing pathogens without enhancing its toxicity. This is evidence that the combination of colistin with melatonin enhances bacterial outer membrane permeability, promotes oxidative damage and inhibits the effect of efflux pumps. In three animal models infected by -carrying , melatonin dramatically rescues colistin efficacy. Our findings revealed that melatonin serves as a promising colistin adjuvant against MCR-positive Gram-negative pathogens.
