AUTHOR=Abdelaziz Rewan , Tartor Yasmine H. , Barakat Ahmed B. , EL-Didamony Gamal , Gado Marwa M. , Berbecea Adina , Radulov Habil dr. Isidora TITLE=Bioactive metabolites of Streptomyces misakiensis display broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria and fungi JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2023 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1162721 DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1162721 ISSN=2235-2988 ABSTRACT=Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to public health globally. It is a slower-moving pandemic than COVID-19, so we are fast running out of treatment options. Thus, this study was designed to search for an alternative biomaterial with broad-spectrum activity for the treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial and fungal pathogen-related infections. We isolated Streptomyces species from soil samples and identified the most active strains with antimicrobial activity. The culture filtrates of active species were purified, and the bioactive metabolite extracts were identified. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using the broth microdilution method.The MIC50 and MIC90 of S. misakiensis bioactive metabolites (ursolic acid methyl ester and tetradecamethylcycloheptasiloxane) against all tested bacteria and fungi were 0.5 μg/ml and 1 μg/mL, respectively, versus S. coeruleorubidus metabolites: thiocarbamic acid, N,N-dimethyl, S-1,3-diphenyl-2-butenyl ester against bacteria (MIC50: 2 μg/ml and MIC90: 4 μg/ mL) and fungi (MIC50:4 μg/ml and MIC90: 8 μg/ mL). Ursolic acid methyl ester was active against ciprofloxacin-resistant strains of Streptococcus pyogenes, S. agalactiae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella enterica serovars, colistin-resistant Aeromonas hydrophila and K. pneumoniae, and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Tetradecamethylcycloheptasiloxane was active against azole- and amphotericin B-resistant Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, C. gattii, Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, and A. fumigatus. Ursolic acid methyl ester was applied in vivo for treating S. aureus septicemia and K. pneumoniae pneumonia models in mice. In the septicemia model, the ursolic acid methyl ester-treated group had a significant 4.00 and 3.98 log CFU/g decrease (P < 0.05) in liver and spleen tissue compared to the infected, untreated control group. Lung tissue in the pneumonia model showed a 2.20 log CFU/g significant decrease in the ursolic acid methyl ester-treated group in comparison to the control group. Moreover, no abnormalities were found in the histopathology of the liver, kidneys, lungs, and spleen of ursolic acid methyl ester-treated mice in comparison with the control group. In conclusion, S. misakiensis metabolite extracts are broad-spectrum antimicrobial biomaterials that can be further investigated for the potential against MDR pathogen infections. Hence, it opens up new horizons for exploring alternative drugs for current and reemerging diseases.