Meloxicam inhibits biofilm formation and enhances antimicrobial agents efficacy by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Microbial biofilms are communities of surface-adhered cells enclosed in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances. Bacterial cells in biofilm are 10~1,000-fold more resistant to antimicrobials than the planktonic cells. Burgeoning antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm has necessitated the development of antimicrobial agents. Here, we have investigated the antibiofilm effect of meloxicam against P. aeruginosaPAO1 and its potential mechanisms. Further, we have explored whether meloxicam could enhance the susceptibility of bacterial biofilms to treatment with conventional antimicrobials. Here, we found that meloxicam could significantly inhibit PAO1 biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner at the concentration without influence on planktonic cell growth. Meloxicam could also significantly inhibit the motilities, production of extracellular matrix, and expression of quorum sensing-related genes and virulence factors of PAO1. Furthermore, synergistic interaction was observed when meloxicam combined with tetracycline, gentamicin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, ofloxacin, norfloxacin, ceftazidime, and DNase at subminimal inhibitory concentrations against PAO1 bioiflm. Collectively, our study lays the foundation for further investigation of repurposing meloxicam as a topical antibiofilm agent to treat P. aeruginosa biofilm-related infections.