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The social network: Impact of host and microbial interactions on bacterial antibiotic tolerance and persistence

Maria C Rocha-Granados1, Blesing Zenick1, Hanna E Englander2

  • 1Department of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, UCONN Health, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.

Cellular Signalling
|August 27, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Bacteria develop antibiotic tolerance and persistence through reversible changes, not just resistance mutations. Understanding host and microbial interactions is key to overcoming treatment failures and recurrent infections.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Antibiotic misuse has led to decreased efficacy and increased antibiotic resistance.
  • Bacteria exhibit antibiotic tolerance and persistence, surviving therapy without inherited resistance, contributing to treatment failure.
  • Host immunity and microbiota signals influence bacterial transcriptomic and metabolic reprogramming.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the impact of host factors and microbial interactions on antibiotic tolerance and persistence.
  • To explore strategies for potentiating antibiotic activity by leveraging host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions in antibiotic tolerance.
  • Analysis of bacterial survival strategies beyond genetic resistance.
  • Examination of transcriptomic and metabolic reprogramming induced by environmental signals.

Main Results:

  • Bacteria employ reversible phenotypic changes to survive antibiotic exposure.
  • Host and microbial factors significantly influence bacterial antibiotic tolerance and persistence.
  • Knowledge of these interactions can inform novel therapeutic approaches.

Conclusions:

  • Targeting host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions offers a promising avenue to combat antibiotic tolerance and persistence.
  • Developing therapies that enhance antibiotic activity is crucial for reducing recurrent infections.
  • Further research into these complex interactions is warranted.
Keywords:
Antibiotic persistenceAntibiotic toleranceHost-pathogen interactionsMicrobiome

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