Alternative Approaches to Treating Antimicrobial Resistant Infections—3rd Volume

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2024 | Viewed by 2824

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
Interests: metabolic evolution; opportunistic pathogens; cystic fibrosis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus aureus
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will focus on alternative approaches to treating antimicrobial-resistant infections. The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized the clinical treatment of bacterial infections; however, this fundamental pillar of modern medicine is now crumbling. The development of novel antimicrobials has slowed down in recent years and major pharmaceutical firms have withdrawn from the field of anti-infective research due to its low profitability.

As a consequence, many infections are now difficult to treat, which is raising mortality and healthcare-associated costs due to difficulties in accomplishing total remission. Antimicrobial resistance is now considered to be one of the greatest risks to humanity. Common surgical procedures and treatments that could lead to immunosuppression may soon be considered high-risk due to the antibiotic crisis (e.g., cancer chemotherapy or organ transplants).

We are therefore inviting both reviews and original articles on the latest developments in novel antibacterial strategies with which to treat infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Topics include the development of novel combinatorial therapies based on the repurposing of anti-infectives, host-targeted therapies, bacteriophages, the use of predatory bacteria, bacteriocins, antimicrobial peptides, nanoparticles, natural compounds, immunotherapeutics, probiotics used for the competitive exclusion of pathogens, and the development of novel antibacterial compounds.

Dr. Michal Letek
Dr. Volker Behrends
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • repurposing
  • anti-infectives
  • host-targeted therapies
  • bacteriophages
  • predatory bacteria
  • bacteriocins
  • antimicrobial peptides
  • nanoparticles
  • natural compounds
  • immunotherapy
  • probiotics
  • antibiotics

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 12440 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Activity of Ingulados Bacteria with Antibiotics against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens
by Javier Blanco-Blanco, María Bravo, Irene Simón, Pedro Fernández-Llario, Miguel Fajardo-Olivares, María Coronada Fernández-Calderón and Rosario Cerrato
Antibiotics 2024, 13(3), 200; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13030200 - 20 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is a critical challenge due to the overuse of conventional antimicrobials, and alternative solutions are urgently needed. This study investigates the efficacy of compounds derived from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation combined with antibiotics against multidrug-resistant pathogens isolated from clinical cases [...] Read more.
Antimicrobial resistance is a critical challenge due to the overuse of conventional antimicrobials, and alternative solutions are urgently needed. This study investigates the efficacy of compounds derived from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation combined with antibiotics against multidrug-resistant pathogens isolated from clinical cases in a hospital setting. Strains of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterococcus faecium and faecalis were isolated and selected from blood, respiratory, and urine samples. They were tested against the fermentation products from the Ingulados LAB collection (BAL5, BAL6, BAL8, BAL13, and BAL16), recognized for their antimicrobial efficacy against veterinary pathogens. The activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens was evaluated initially, followed by synergy tests using checkerboard assays and subsequent analysis. Bioinformatic assessments and supernatant treatments were performed to characterize the nature of the compounds responsible for the antimicrobial activity. Notably, BAL16 exhibited significant growth inhibition against multidrug-resistant E. faecium. Synergy tests highlighted its combined activity with tetracycline through FICI and surface analysis and bioinformatic analysis unveiled the protein fraction containing bacteriocins as the underlying mechanism. This study highlights BAL16 fermentation products potential as valuable antimicrobial agents against MDR E. faecium infections, attributed to bacteriocins. Further in-depth studies are necessary for complete bacteriocin characterization. Full article
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Review

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23 pages, 1296 KiB  
Review
Bacteriophage Therapy in Companion and Farm Animals
by Laura Bianchessi, Giulia De Bernardi, Martina Vigorelli, Paola Dall’Ara and Lauretta Turin
Antibiotics 2024, 13(4), 294; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13040294 - 23 Mar 2024
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Abstract
Bacteriophages, which are viruses with restricted tropism for bacteria, have been employed for over a century as antimicrobial agents; they have been largely abandoned in Western countries but are constantly used in Eastern European countries with the advent of antibiotics. In recent decades, [...] Read more.
Bacteriophages, which are viruses with restricted tropism for bacteria, have been employed for over a century as antimicrobial agents; they have been largely abandoned in Western countries but are constantly used in Eastern European countries with the advent of antibiotics. In recent decades, the growing spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria, which pose a serious threat to worldwide public health, imposed an urgent demand for alternative therapeutic approaches to antibiotics in animal and human fields. Based on this requirement, numerous studies have been published on developing and testing bacteriophage-based therapy. Overall, the literature largely supports the potential of this perspective but also highlights the need for additional research as the current standards are inadequate to receive approval from regulatory authorities. This review aims to update and critically revise the current knowledge on the application of bacteriophages to treat bacterial-derived infectious diseases in animals in order to provide topical perspectives and innovative advances. Full article
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