Emerging Non-Traditional Approaches to Combat Antibiotic Resistance

Abstract

An increasing number of bacterial pathogens are acquiring resistance to the commonly used antibiotics. This has spurred a global threat leading to a resistance era and has penetrated the consciousness of the common people and the clinicians alike. The delay in discovering new antibiotics has exacerbated the resistance problem, forcing researchers to focus on unconventional antimicrobial therapeutics that differ from conventional antibiotics. Alternative therapies have emerged in recent years, including antimicrobial peptides, phage therapy, efflux pump inhibitors, antibodies, and immunomodulatory agents, which have produced impressive results in both laboratory and in clinical trials. Additionally, ultra-narrow-spectrum therapeutics such as CRISPR-Cas system and peptide nucleic acids aided in the development of sequence-specific antimicrobials. Moreover, combinatorial therapies that combine these new approaches have been efficient enough to get approval for clinical use and have accelerated the discovery of novel combination approaches that enhance the performance of already in-use antibiotics. In this review, we provide an overview of these approaches along with studies that focus on the uncharted microbial territories that have been able to deliver some of the important new antibiotics of recent times. It is hoped that the information gathered in this article will provide an update on the current antibiotic resistance threat and encourage profound research.

Global trends in antimicrobial resistance on organic and conventional farms

“…In isolation, however, these costly and reactive approaches aimed at limiting pathogen proliferation can select for more virulent and resistant variants and ultimately ease their spread. The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance and consumer demands to reduce the use of antimicrobials in livestock emphasize the critical need to leverage non-pharmacological approaches to prevent and manage disease 49 – 53 .…”

Functional network analysis identifies multiple virulence and antibiotic resistance systems inStenotrophomonas maltophilia

“…However, designing entirely new scaffolds is much more expensive than developing derivatives of established compound classes (Schlander et al, 2021). Phytopharmaceuticals, which have recently attracted global interest, can be used to solve the dearth of novel medications in development (Konwar et al, 2022). Antibiotics and plant extracts work together synergistically to fight resistant bacteria, opening up new options for the treatment of infectious disorders.…”

Penicillin Binding Protein Mutation and Beyond: A Comprehensive Approach to Addressing Streptococcus pneumoniae Resistance

“…To combat resistance, novel strategies such as targeting alternative penicillin-binding proteins (51), utilizing combination therapies (52-54), and targeting biofilm formation have been proposed (55). Furthermore, alternative treatments such as vaccines, bacteriophages, and probiotics could provide a promising alternative to traditional antibiotics (56). The development of new antimicrobial agents and approaches, combined with efforts to minimize the inappropriate use of antibiotics, will be crucial in the fight against antibiotic resistance in S. pneumoniae and other bacterial pathogens.…”