Dosage-Dependent Antimicrobial Activity Of Dna-Histone Microwebs Against Staphylococcus Aureus

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are antimicrobial cobweb-structured materials produced by immune cells for clearance of pathogens in the body, but are paradoxically associated with biofilm formation and exacerbated lung infections. To provide a better materials perspective on the pleiotropic roles played by NETs at diverse compositions/concentrations, a NETs-like material (called "microwebs", abbreviated as mu webs) is synthesized for decoding the antimicrobial activity of NETs against Staphylococcus aureus in infection-relevant conditions. It is shown that mu webs composed of low-to-intermediate concentrations of DNA-histone complexes successfully trap and inhibit S. aureus growth and biofilm formation. However, with growing concentrations and histone proportions, the resulting microwebs appear gel-like structures accompanied by reduced antimicrobial activity that can even promote the formation of S. aureus biofilms. The simplified model of NETs provides materials-based evidence on NETs-relevant pathology in the development of biofilms.