The research team of the ’Microbial resistance and complex infections’ group of the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville-IBiS, together with researchers from the Department of Microbiology of the University of Seville and the Virgen Macarena University Hospital, have published a study in which a differential response of pathogenic bacteria to certain antibiotics is observed. This work, which has been published in the journal Drug Resistance Updates, explores in depth the mechanisms that generate antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotics are essential medicines to prevent and treat infections caused by bacteria. In recent years, a rapid increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been observed, which the World Health Organization has labeled as a serious global public health problem. The current fight against antibiotic resistance is focused on finding strategies to block the development of this resistance and improve the efficacy of antibiotics .
In this context, research has focused on a bacterial response related to DNA repair, known as the SOS response. The SOS response is considered a promising target for the development of new compounds that prevent the evolution of bacteria towards resistance by enhancing the bactericidal activity of antimicrobial agents such as quinolones. Quinolones are a group of broad-spectrum synthetic antimicrobials that target DNA synthesis.
The bacterium ’Escherichia coli’.
The study concludes that gastrointestinal bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, show heterogeneous activation of the SOS response. "Those bacteria that have a stronger SOS response have a greater capacity to adapt and resist antibiotic treatment," says Sara Díaz Díaz, lead author of the publication.Previous research by the group has shown that the elimination of this response in Escherichia coli increases its sensitization to some antibiotics. "This is a significant step towards a better understanding of bacterial resistance, contributing to the development of more effective treatments against infections that do not respond to traditional antibiotics," says José Manuel Rodríguez Martínez, author of the study and Co-Investigator in charge of the "Microbial resistance and complex infections" group at IBiS.
The work has been funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
Reference: Heterogeneity of SOS response expression in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli influences adaptation to antimicrobial stress.
