Berberine inhibits the tarO gene to impact MRSA cell wall synthesis

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 6927 - 12
• Main Authors: Gu, Xuemei, Zhou, Fangfang, Jiang, Mingming, Lin, Ming, Dai, Yue, Wang, Wei, Xiong, Zhongbo, Liu, Han, Xu, Minyi, Wang, Lei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 26.02.2025; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326; 631/337/2019; 631/449; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial activity; Antibiotics; Bacterial Proteins - antagonists & inhibitors; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Berberine; Berberine - pharmacology; Biosynthesis; Cell wall; Cell Wall - drug effects; Cell Wall - metabolism; Cell walls; Drug resistance; Enzymes; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial - drug effects; Herbal medicine; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Inhibitory mechanism; Lytic enzymes; Methicillin; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - metabolism; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; multidisciplinary; Multidrug resistance; Natural products; Oxacillin; Penicillin; Peptidoglycan - metabolism; Peptidoglycans; Public health; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Staphylococcal Infections - drug therapy; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcus infections; tarO; Teichoic Acids - biosynthesis; Traditional Chinese medicine; Inhibitory mechanism; Berberine; Methicillin-resistant; Cell wall; tarO; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-91724-3
• ISSN: 2045-2322

Hospital and community-acquired infections caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have emerged as a significant public health challenge, highlighting the urgent need for novel antibiotics. In response, the antibacterial properties of natural products derived from traditional plants are being investigated as potential treatments for multidrug resistance. This study demonstrates the potent antibacterialimoact of Berberine (BBR), a compound derived from traditional Chinese medicine, against the community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) strain USA300 LAC. Through a comprehensive series of in vitro antibacterial experiments and gene-level investigations, we discovered that BBR compromises the integrity of the USA300 LAC cell wall structure. This mechanism of action is likely attributed to the inhibition of the tarO gene, which encodes a critical enzyme in the initial stage of wall teichoic acid (WTA) biosynthesis, thereby suppressing WTA synthesis, an essential component of the cell wall. Additionally, BBR upregulates the expression of lytic enzymes LytM and SsaA, resulting in accelerated hydrolysis of peptidoglycan, a major structural element of the cell wall. This disruption ultimately leads to the destruction of the USA300 LAC cell wall. Moreover, combined antibacterial assays reveal that BBR synergistically enhances the antibacterial effect of Oxacillin against USA300 LAC. Overall, our findings elucidate the antibacterial mechanism of BBR, a traditional Chinese medicine monomer, against MRSA and highlight its promising potential for clinical application in the treatment of MRSA.