Antimicrobials Functioning through ROS-Mediated Mechanisms: Current Insights

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance and infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria are global health concerns. Reducing the overuse and misuse of antibiotics is the primary step toward minimizing the antibiotic resistance crisis. Thus, it is imperative to introduce and implement novel antimicrobial strategies. Recently, several alternative antimicrobials targeting oxidative stress in bacteria have been studied and shown to be promising. Oxidative stress occurs when bacterial cells fail to detoxify the excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulated in the cells. Bacteria deploy numerous defense mechanisms against oxidative stress. The oxidative stress response is not essential for the normal growth of bacteria, but it is crucial for their survival. This toxic oxidative stress is created by the host immune response or antimicrobials generating ROS. ROS possess strong oxidation potential and cause serious damage to nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins. Since ROS-based antimicrobials target multiple sites in bacteria, these antimicrobials have attracted the attention of several researchers. In this review, we present recent ROS-based alternative antimicrobials and strategies targeting oxidative stress which might help in mitigating the problem of antibiotic resistance and dissemination.

Are reactive oxygen species (ROS) the main mechanism by which copper ion treatment degrades the DNA of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis suspended in milk?

“…In short, the signi cant increase in ROS production witnessed in most of the treatments compared to the respective control (+) could be directly related to the survival of MAP detected by magnetic phage separation/qPCR in all treatments at bacterial concentrations of 10 4 cells mL -1 and 10 6 cells mL -1 , and in most at 10 2 cells mL -1 . This is supported by the fact that oxidative stress response mechanisms are crucial for survival (Vaishampayan and Grohmann 2021). If the bacterial cell continues to be viable and metabolically active, then it is capable of regulating the gene expression of antioxidant systems to prevent damage caused by oxidative stress for some period of time, so that the mechanism of ROS production and antioxidation is maintained (Cheng et al 2020).…”

Anti- and Pro-Oxidant Properties of Essential Oils against Antimicrobial Resistance

“…Under aerobic conditions, antibiotic treatment generates ROS, which boosts the bactericidal effect and induces the production of ROS defense enzymes including catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) [ 26 ]. There is much evidence of antibiotic-mediated ROS generation in Escherichia coli , P. aeruginosa , and Acinetobacter baumannii [ 35 , 36 ]. Polymyxin B is an example of bacterial antimicrobial peptides that were observed to induce rapid bacteria cell death through Fenton chemistry-mediated hydroxyl radical production in A. baumannii [ 37 ].…”

Upconversion nanoparticles and its based photodynamic therapy for antibacterial applications: A state-of-the-art review

“…After that, via “intersystem crossing” or spin–flip of the HOMO electron singlet state, PS could produce relatively steady triplet state species, which could generate a large amount of ROS in a short time ( Hamblin, 2018 ). ROS could cause bacteria to be damaged in a variety of ways and then control infection ( Vaishampayan and Grohmann, 2021 ). Benefiting from its unique antibacterial mechanism, APDT does not lead to drug resistance in bacteria, which gives it a huge advantage over conventional antibacterial drugs ( Bekmukhametova et al, 2020 ).…”