Thesis Discussion
The College of Science for Women at the University of Baghdad examined a master’s thesis entitled “Effect of Diclofenac sodium on expression for some efflux pump genes of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
”, presented by the postgraduate student Shahad Najm Abdullah, as a requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Biology/Microbiology. The study was supervised by Asst. Prof. Dr. Zina Hashem Shehab.
The thesis/dissertation to investigate the antibacterial effect of Diclofenac Sodium, a well-known non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), on multidrug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, focusing on the expression of efflux pump genes (mepA, mdeA, norB) which contribute significantly to antibiotic resistance.
The results revealed that treatment with Diclofenac Sodium significantly downregulated efflux gene expression (with fold changes ranging from 0.002 to 0.31 compared to untreated isolates), leading to enhanced sensitivity to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and reduced minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) when both drugs were used together. Phenotypic testing showed positive efflux activity in 16% of the isolates, while genotypic analysis confirmed a high prevalence of mdeA and mepA (94%), and norB (77%)
The thesis recommended that repurposing non-traditional drugs like Diclofenac Sodium could offer promising adjunctive therapies to enhance antibiotic effectiveness, presenting a potential strategy in the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.
The final grade: Excellent
