Effects of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with mesenchymal stem cell conditioned media on gene expression in Vibrio cholerae and Caco-2 cells

Vibrio (V.) cholerae forms a pellicle for self-defense in the pathological conditions in the intestine, which protects it against antibiotics and adverse conditions. Targeting biofilm genes and Toll-like receptors (TLRs) is one of the new strategies to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of mesenchymal stem cell conditioned media (MSC CM; 1000 µg), chitosan nanoparticles incorporated with mesenchymal stem cell conditioned media (MSC CM-CS NPs; 1000 µg + 0.05%), and chitosan nanoparticles (CS NPs; 0.05%) on the expression of bap1 and rbmC biofilm genes in V. cholerae and TLR2 and TLR4 genes in Caco-2 cells. The bacteria were inoculated in the presence or absence of MSC CM, MSC CM-CS NPs, and CS NPs for 24 h at 37 °C to evaluate the expression of biofilm genes. The Caco-2 cells were also exposed to V. cholerae for 1 h and then MSC CM, MSC CM-CS NPs, and CS NPs for 18 h at 37 °C. After these times, RNA was extracted from Caco-2 cells and bacteria exposed to the compounds, and the expression of target genes was evaluated using real-time PCR. Caco-2 cell viability was also assessed by MTT assay. After adding MSC CM, MSC CM-CS NPs, and CS NPs to V. cholerae medium, the percentage reduction in gene expression of bap1 was 96, 91, and 39%, and rbmC was 93, 92, and 32%, respectively. After adding MSC CM, MSC CM-CS NPs, and CS NPs to the Caco-2 cell medium, the percentage reduction in the gene expression of TLR4 was 89, 90, and 82%, and TLR2 was 41, 43, and 32%, respectively. MTT showed that Caco-2 cell viability was high and the compounds had little toxicity on these cells. Finally, it suggests that MSC CM-CS NPs designed may be a therapeutic agent to combat inflammation and biofilm formation in multidrug-resistant V. cholerae. However, further studies in vivo are also recommended.