Brucella species-induced brucellosis: Antimicrobial effects, potential resistance and toxicity of silver and gold nanosized particles

Brucellosis is an endemic zoonotic disease caused by Brucella species, which are intramacrophage
pathogens that make treating this disease challenging. The negative effects of the
treatment regime have prompted the development of new antimicrobials against brucellosis.
A new treatment modality for antibiotic-resistant microorganisms is the use of nanoparticles
(NPs). In this study, we examined the antibacterial activities of silver and gold NPs (SNPs
and GNPs, respectively), the resistance developed by Brucella melitensis (B. melitensis)
and Brucella abortus (B. abortus) strains and the toxicity of both of these NPs in experimental
rats. To test the bactericidal effects of the SNPs and GNPs, we used 22 multidrug-resistant
Brucella isolates (10 B. melitensis and 12 B. abortus). The minimal inhibitory
concentrations (MICs) of both types of NPs were determined utilizing the microdilution technique.
To test the stability of resistance, 7 B. melitensis and 6 B. abortus isolates were passaged
ten times in culture with subinhibitory concentrations of NPs and another ten times
without NPs. Histopathological analysis was completed after rats were given 0.25, 0.5, 1,
and 2 mg/kg NPs orally for 28 consecutive days. The MIC values (μg/ml) of the 10-nm SNPs
and 20-nm GNPs against B. melitensis were 22.43 ± 2.32 and 13.56 ± 1.22, while these values
were 18.77 ± 1.33 and 12.45 ± 1.59 for B. abortus, respectively. After extensive in vitro
exposure, most strains showed no resistance to the 10-nm SNPs or 20-nm GNPs. The NPs
and antibiotics did not cross-react in any of the evolved Brucella strains. SNPs and GNPs at
doses below 2 mg/kg were not harmful to rat tissue according to organ histopathological
examinations. However, a greater dose of NPs (2 mg/kg) harmed all of the tissues studied.
The bactericidal properties of NPs are demonstrated in this work. Brucella strains develop similar resistance to SNPs and GNPs, and at low dosages, neither SNPs nor GNPs were
hazardous to rats.