Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Nanomechanics of Drug-target Interactions and Antibacterial Resistance Detection
Published on: October 25, 2013
Regulation of Resistance in Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci: The VanRS Two-Component System
Alexandra A Guffey1, Patrick J Loll1
1Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA.
Abstract:
Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are a serious threat to human health, with few treatment options being available. New therapeutics are urgently needed to relieve the health and economic burdens presented by VRE. A potential target for new therapeutics is the VanRS two-component system, which regulates the expression of vancomycin resistance in VRE. VanS is a sensor histidine kinase that detects vancomycin and in turn activates VanR; VanR is a response regulator that, when activated, directs expression of vancomycin-resistance genes. This review of VanRS examines how the expression of vancomycin resistance is regulated, and provides an update on one of the field's most pressing questions: How does VanS sense vancomycin?
Related Concept Videos
Development of Antibiotic Resistance
Global Regulatory Systems
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing
Other Stress Responses in Bacteria
Repressible Operon: trp Operon
Stringent Response in E. coli

