Samenvatting

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a nosocomial pathogen that causes severe infections in
immunocompromised patients. Biofilm plays a significant role in the resistance of this bacterium and complicates
the treatment of its infections. In this study, the effect of lyticase and β-glucosidase enzymes on the degradation of
biofilms of P. aeruginosa strains isolated from cystic fibrosis and burn wound infections were assessed. Moreover,
the decrease of ceftazidime minimum biofilm eliminating concentrations (MBEC) after enzymatic treatment was
evaluated.
Results: This study demonstrated the effectiveness of both enzymes in degrading the biofilms of P. aeruginosa. In
contrast to the lyticase enzyme, β-glucosidase reduced the ceftazidime MBECs significantly (P < 0.05). Both enzymes
had no cytotoxic effect on the A-549 human lung carcinoma epithelial cell lines and A-431 human epidermoid
carcinoma cell lines.
Conclusion: Considering the characteristics of the β-glucosidase enzyme, which includes the notable degradation
of P. aeruginosa biofilms and a significant decrease in the ceftazidime MBECs and non-toxicity for eukaryotic cells,
this enzyme can be a promising therapeutic candidate for degradation of biofilms in burn wound patients, but
further studies are needed.