Cytotoxicity and Antimicrobial Resistance of Aeromonas Strains Isolated from Fresh Produce and Irrigation Water

The genus has received constant attention in different areas, from aquaculture and veterinary medicine to food safety, where more and more frequent isolates are occurring with increased resistance to antibiotics. The present paper studied the interaction of strains isolated from fresh produce and water with different eukaryotic cell types with the aim of better understanding the cytotoxic capacity of these strains. To study host-cell pathogen interactions in , we used HT-29, Vero, J774A.1, and primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. These interactions were analyzed by confocal microscopy to determine the cytotoxicity of the strains. We also used larvae to test their pathogenicity in this experimental model. Our results demonstrated that two strains showed high cytotoxicity in epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and macrophages. Furthermore, these strains showed high virulence using the model. All strains used in this paper generally showed low levels of resistance to the different families of the antibiotics being tested. These results indicated that some strains of present in vegetables and water pose a potential health hazard, displaying very high in vitro and in vivo virulence. This pathogenic potential, and some recent concerning findings on antimicrobial resistance in , encourage further efforts in examining the precise significance of Aeromonas strains isolated from foods for human consumption.