Pre-Exposure to α-Linolenic Acid Reduces Virulence of Cronobacter sakazakii in Galleria mellonella Infection Model

Phair, Katie; Curtis, Aaron; Pereira, Sónia G.; Kealey, Carmel; Kavanagh, Kevin; Brady, Damien

Publication

Pre-Exposure to α-Linolenic Acid Reduces Virulence of Cronobacter sakazakii in Galleria mellonella Infection Model

2025-09-08Journal article

datacite.subject.fos	Ciências Médicas::Ciências da Saúde
datacite.subject.sdg	03:Saúde de Qualidade
datacite.subject.sdg	17:Parcerias para a Implementação dos Objetivos
dc.contributor.author	Phair, Katie
dc.contributor.author	Curtis, Aaron
dc.contributor.author	Pereira, Sónia G.
dc.contributor.author	Kealey, Carmel
dc.contributor.author	Kavanagh, Kevin
dc.contributor.author	Brady, Damien
dc.date.accessioned	2025-10-02T14:20:03Z
dc.date.available	2025-10-02T14:20:03Z
dc.date.issued	2025-09-08	en_US
dc.date.updated	2025-09-30T06:54:13Z
dc.description	Article number - e70033
dc.description.abstract	Cronobacter sakazakii is a food-borne pathogen with infections notifiable in those under 12 months old. Current inhibition methods rely on manufacture and reconstitution guidelines. Fatty acids (FA) are a possible method of control, with reports showing FAs can be bactericidal and regulate virulence mechanisms such as biofilm formation. This research explores the efficacy of the long-chain FA α-linolenic (ALA) to reduce C. sakazakii virulence in vivo. Galleria mellonella larvae were injected with FA pre-treated C. sakazakii and viability monitored every 24 h over a total of 96 h. To show the interaction between the host immune system and C. sakazakii, haemocytes and bacterial cells were mixed and enumerated following incubation. To investigate the impact on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), 24 antibiotics were tested against C. sakazakii pretreated with ALA. Kaplan–Meier survival curves generated showed a dose-dependent increase in larval survival upon increased FA concentration. Regarding the immune evasion assay, data generated show increased C. sakazakii and decreased haemocyte counts in the same sample. From the AMR results, there was no statistically significant difference in inhibition zones when compared to the control, indicating no contraindications for current treatment options. α-linolenic acid is a common component of the human diet and is shown here to directly reduce virulence mechanisms including immune system evasion. Pre-treatment with ALA reduces the virulence of C. sakazakii, resulting in increased survival of G. mellonella larvae. This suggests that ALA may serve as a candidate for further evaluation as a potential agent against C. sakazakii.	eng
dc.description.sponsorship	Funding: This work was funded by the Irish Research Council (GOIPG/2021/1257). We also acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia funding (CEECINST/00051/2018, UIDB/05704/2020) regarding Sónia Gonçalves Pereira's collaboration.
dc.description.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.identifier.citation	Phair, Katie & Curtis, Aaron & Pereira, Sónia & Kealey, Carmel & Kavanagh, Kevin & Brady, Damien. (2025). Pre‐Exposure to α‐Linolenic Acid Reduces Virulence of Cronobacter sakazakii in Galleria mellonella Infection Model. Journal of Food Safety. 45. 10.1111/jfs.70033.
dc.identifier.doi	10.1111/jfs.70033	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0149-6085	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1745-4565	en_US
dc.identifier.slug	cv-prod-4572608
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/14192
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.peerreviewed	yes
dc.publisher	Wiley
dc.relation	Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology
dc.relation.hasversion	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfs.70033
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject	Cronobacter sakazakii
dc.subject	fatty acids
dc.subject	infection model
dc.subject	virulence
dc.title	Pre-Exposure to α-Linolenic Acid Reduces Virulence of Cronobacter sakazakii in Galleria mellonella Infection Model	eng
dc.type	journal article
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.awardTitle	Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology
oaire.awardURI	info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F05704%2F2020/PT
oaire.citation.endPage	9
oaire.citation.issue	5	en_US
oaire.citation.startPage	1
oaire.citation.title	Journal of Food Safety
oaire.citation.volume	45	en_US
oaire.fundingStream	6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.version	http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyName	Gonçalves Pereira
person.givenName	Sónia
person.identifier	461252
person.identifier.ciencia-id	EB1F-4DB2-B0C9
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0001-8197-1850
person.identifier.rid	M-7588-2017
person.identifier.scopus-author-id	7202024712
project.funder.identifier	http://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.name	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
rcaap.cv.cienciaid	8615-92D1-7858 \| Sónia Gonçalves Pereira
rcaap.rights	openAccess	en_US
relation.isAuthorOfPublication	259ad2cc-f9ff-4c33-ad6d-10f5b3ff341a
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