Abstract
SummaryAntibiotic resistant bacterial infections are a global public health challenge that has been increasing in severity and scope for the last few decades. Without creative solutions to this problem, treatment of injuries and infections will become progressively more challenging. A better understanding of the human microbiome has led to a new appreciation for the role commensal microbes play in protecting us from pathogens, especially in the gut. Antibiotics lead to disruption of the gut microbial ecosystem, enabling colonization by antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens. Many different lines of research have identified specific bacterial taxa and mechanisms that play a role in colonization resistance, and these lines of research may one day lead to microbial therapeutics targeting antibiotic resistant bacteria. Here, we discuss a few of these strategies and the challenges they will need to overcome in order to become an effective therapeutic.
Highlights
Bacteriophage-based therapies focus on using phage or its component proteins to target highly specific strains of bacteria
The approach of using bacteriophage isolates to treat bacterial infections has traditionally been pursued in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (Sulakvelidze et al, 2001)
faecal microbiota transplants (FMTs) is thought to act by delivering commensals that (i) directly compete for niches with C. difficile, (ii) convert primary bile acids, which are required for C. difficile spore germination, into secondary bile acids, and (iii) activate the immune system and help
Summary
Antibiotic resistant bacterial infections are a global public health challenge that has been increasing in severity and scope for the last few decades. Microbial strategies for decreasing antibiotic resistance are promising and sustainable The human microbiome, which consists of all the bacterial, fungal and viral microorganisms that colonize epithelial surfaces of the human body, may hold the key to fighting ARB. Members of the human microbiome play roles in many aspects of human development (Vaishnava et al, 2008; Dinan and Cryan, 2012; Sommer and Ba€ckhed, 2013; Peterson and Artis, 2014; De Santis et al, 2015; Chung et al, 2016) These organisms are commensal, but under certain conditions, some of these bacteria have been associated with chronic and acute disorders (Becattini et al, 2016; Nagao-Kitamoto et al, 2016; Fung et al, 2017; Sommer et al, 2017; Wen and Duffy, 2017). We will discuss some exciting examples for each of these promising lines of research (Fig. 1)
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