Therapeutic strategies against autophagic escape by pathogenic bacteria

Growing multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of various infectious bacterial species are hindering research aiming to eliminate such infections. During a bacterial infection, the host response eliminates the pathogen via fusion of the endocytic vesicles with lysosomes, called xenophagy. However, MDR bacteria have evolved strategies to escape xenophagy. In this review, we propose novel therapeutics for overcoming such escape, including chimeric antibiotics, nanoformulations for the induction of autophagy in infected cells, and small interfering (si)RNA-mediated silencing of genes to inhibit the host-pathogen interaction. We also discuss the role of combinations of antibiotics showing synergy, the administrative routes of differentially capped nanoparticles (NPs), and the use of different types of nanoformulations for eliminating pathogenic bacteria from the host.