Antimicrobial effect of pimozide by targeting ROS-mediated killing in Staphylococcus aureus.

In spite of the higher nosocomial and community-acquired infections acquired by Staphylococcus aureus, emerging drug resistance is a leading cause of increased mortality and morbidity associated with the overuse of antimicrobials. It is an emergent need to find out new molecules to combat such infections. In the present study, we analyzed the antibacterial effect of pimozide (PMZ) against Gram +ve and Gram -ve bacterial strains including methicillin-sensitive (MSSA) and methicillin resistance (MRSA) S. aureus. The growth of MSSA and MRSA was completely inhibited at concentrations of 12.5 μg/ml and 100 μg/ml, respectively which is referred to as 1x MIC. The cell viability was completely eliminated within 90 min of PMZ treatment (2x MIC) through ROS-mediated killing without affecting cell membrane permeability. It suppressed α-hemolysin biofilm formation of different S. aureus strains by almost 50% at 1x MIC concentration and was found to detach matured biofilm. PMZ treatment effectively eliminates S. aureus infection in C. elegans and improves its survival by 90% and found safe to use with no hemolytic effect on human and chicken blood tissues. Taken together, it is concluded that PMZ may turn out to be an effective antibacterial for treating bacterial infections including MSSA and MRSA. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.