Anticytotoxin Effects of Amentoflavone to Pneumolysin

Pneumolysin (PLY) is a devastating bacterial protein toxin of Streptococcus pneumoniae that punctures the cytomembrane, leading to pathological reactions, such as cell disruption and inflammation. Drugs capable of closely impacting the toxin are considered advantageous in the treatment of bacterial infections. Amentoflavone (AMF) is a chemical substance extracted from traditional Chinese herbs. Previous studies have demonstrated that AMF has multiple pharmacological effects and mentioned without attenuating pneumolysin-mediated cytotoxicity. This work focuses on the influence of AMF on inhibitory hemolytic mechanisms. AMF interacts with the toxin at Ser254, Glu277, Arg359, and effectively weakens the oligomerization of wild-type PLY and provides considerable protection against pneumolysin-mediated human alveolar epithelial (A549) cell damage. The results of our study demonstrate that AMF could be a candidate against pneumolysin-related injury.