Designed α-sheet peptides disrupt uropathogenic E. coli biofilms rendering bacteria susceptible to antibiotics and immune cells

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli account for the largest proportion of nosocomial infections in the United States. Nosocomial infections are a major source of increased costs and treatment complications. Many infections are biofilm associated, rendering antibiotic treatments ineffective or cause additional complications (e.g., microbiome depletion). This work presents a potentially complementary non-antibiotic strategy to fight nosocomial infections by inhibiting the formation of amyloid fibrils, a proteinaceous structural reinforcement known as curli in E. coli biofilms. Despite extensive characterization of the fibrils themselves and their associated secretion system, mechanistic details of curli assembly in vivo remain unclear. We hypothesized that, like other amyloid fibrils, curli polymerization involves a unique secondary structure termed "alpha-sheet". Biophysical studies herein confirmed the presence of alpha-sheet structure in prefibrillar species of CsgA, the major component of curli, as it aggregated. Binding of synthetic alpha-sheet peptides to the soluble alpha-sheet prefibrillar species inhibited CsgA aggregation in vitro and suppressed amyloid fibril formation in biofilms. Application of synthetic alpha-sheet peptides also enhanced antibiotic susceptibility and dispersed biofilm-resident bacteria for improved uptake by phagocytic cells. The ability of synthetic alpha-sheet peptides to reduce biofilm formation, improve antibiotic susceptibility, and enhance clearance by macrophages has broad implications for combating biofilm-associated infections.