One hundred years after the “magic bullet”

Authors

  • Juan José Borrego Spain

Keywords:

virulence factors, antimicrobial resistance, superbugs, antivirulence antibiotics

Abstract

Nowadays the wide and extensive application of bacterial antimicrobials have led to the increase of the prevalence of pathogenic bacterial strains in different environments, including the nosocomial. These strains possess an important sanitary threat for animals and humans, increasing the cost for bacterial diseases control. In 2016, Dr. Wencewicz and Shapiro (University of Washington in Sto. Louis) developed a new strategy for the «superbugs» treatment. These authors hold a molecular model of pre-acinetobactin, a siderophore virulence factor produced by pathogenic strains of Acinetobacter baumannii. All human bacterial pathogens are susceptible to antivirulence antimicrobials, but not all in the same way. Thus, new antivirulence antimicrobials will be designed and developed against other virulence factors, such as antibiotic-degrading enzymes, bacterial capsules, efflux pumps, adhesin proteins, to name a few.

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References

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Published

2017-03-20

How to Cite

Borrego, J. J. (2017). One hundred years after the “magic bullet”. Encuentros En La Biología, 10(162). Retrieved from https://revistas.uma.es/index.php/enbio/article/view/17626