O impacto da dieta e da microbiota na resposta do hospedeiro frente à infecção por uma bactéria multirresistente

Abstract

Bacterial resistance to antimicrobials has emerged as one of the main public health threats of the 21st century. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics is the main factor behind antimicrobial resistance, and efforts to limit their use have not produced the expected results. Considering that modulation of the microbiota through diet can help control infections, and based on the interactions that exist between the microbiota and the host, as well as the importance of the pathogenesis caused by multidrug- resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, the present work has as its main objective to elucidate the role of diet and intestinal microbiota during a bacterial infection caused by multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae. For this, Drosophila melanogaster was used as an experimental model, with the aim of reducing the complexity of the interactions between microbiota, host and pathogen and allowing the understanding of the microbiota's role in the host's response to these infections. Wild flies infected with the bacteria K. pneumoniae were subjected to diets that mimicked both Western diets, characterized by a high content of fats and simple sugars; as for the Mediterranean diet, characterized by its high fiber content. The survival rate and the profile of the microbiota composition of the intestine and carcass of the flies were evaluated. The results showed that flies infected with resistant bacteria, when subjected to Western diets, presented important changes in the survival rate and microbiota composition when compared to flies fed a Mediterranean diet, indicating that the interaction between the diet and the microbiota presents an impact on the resolution or progression of the infection. In this sense, strategies for modulating the microbiota through diet can be of great value as alternative therapeutic strategies and/or adjuvants in the treatment of infectious diseases.