scholarly journals Computational Health Engineering Applied to Model Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance Spread

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 2486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Cartelle Gestal ◽  
Margaret R. Dedloff ◽  
Eva Torres-Sangiao
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
World Health ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Detection And Identification ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance Genes

Infectious diseases are the primary cause of mortality worldwide. The dangers of infectious disease are compounded with antimicrobial resistance, which remains the greatest concern for human health. Although novel approaches are under investigation, the World Health Organization predicts that by 2050, septicaemia caused by antimicrobial resistant bacteria could result in 10 million deaths per year. One of the main challenges in medical microbiology is to develop novel experimental approaches, which enable a better understanding of bacterial infections and antimicrobial resistance. After the introduction of whole genome sequencing, there was a great improvement in bacterial detection and identification, which also enabled the characterization of virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance genes. Today, the use of in silico experiments jointly with computational and machine learning offer an in depth understanding of systems biology, allowing us to use this knowledge for the prevention, prediction, and control of infectious disease. Herein, the aim of this review is to discuss the latest advances in human health engineering and their applicability in the control of infectious diseases. An in-depth knowledge of host–pathogen–protein interactions, combined with a better understanding of a host’s immune response and bacterial fitness, are key determinants for halting infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance dissemination.

Multifunctional BODIPY for effective inactivation of Gram-positive bacteria and promotion of wound healing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaonan Li ◽  
Yite Li ◽  
Qihang Wu ◽  
Tingting Sun ◽  
Zhigang Xie
Keyword(s):  
Wound Healing ◽  
Photodynamic Therapy ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Alternative Therapies ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria

Bacterial infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance seriously endanger human health, so alternative therapies for bacterial infections are urgently needed. Recently, photodynamic therapy against bacteria has shown great potential because of...

scholarly journals Immunotherapy and vaccination against infectious diseases

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meinolf Ebbers ◽  
Christoph J. Hemmer ◽  
Brigitte Müller-Hilke ◽  
Emil C. Reisinger
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Therapeutic Antibodies ◽  
Immunomodulatory Drugs ◽  
Multidrug Resistant Bacteria ◽  
New Treatment

SummaryDue to the overuse of antibiotics, infections, in particular those caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, are becoming more and more frequent. Despite the worldwide introduction of antibiotic therapy, vaccines and constant improvements in hygiene, the burden of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections is increasing and is expected to rise in the future. The development of monoclonal therapeutic antibodies and specific immunomodulatory drugs represent new treatment options in the fight against infectious diseases. This article provides a brief overview of recent advances in immunomodulatory therapy and other strategies in the treatment of infectious disease.

scholarly journals Antimicrobial Resistance in Retail Ground Beef with and Without a “Raised Without Antibiotics” Claim

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Schmidt ◽  
A. Vikram ◽  
K. Thomas ◽  
T. M. Arthur ◽  
M. Weinroth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Production System ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Ground Beef ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antimicrobial Use ◽  
Food Animal ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance Genes

ObjectivesThe occurrences of human bacterial infections complicated by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have increased in recent decades. Concerns have been raised that food-animal production practices that incorporate antimicrobials contribute significantly to human AMR exposures since food-animal production accounts for approximately 81% of U.S. antimicrobial consumption by mass. Although empirical studies comparing AMR levels in meat products, including ground beef, are scant ground beef products with Raised without Antibiotics (RWA) label claims are perceived to harbor less AMR than “conventional” (CONV) products with no label claims regarding antimicrobial use. The objective of this research was to determine AMR levels in retail ground beef with and without an RWA label claims.Materials and MethodsRetail ground beef samples were obtained from 6 U.S. cities. Samples were obtained on the following dates: 9/18/2017, 10/30/2017, 11/27/2017. 1/29/2018. 3/5/2018, and 6/11/2018. A total of 599 samples were obtained. Samples with a “Raised without Antibiotics” or USDA Organic claim (N = 299) were assigned to the RWA production system. Samples lacking a “Raised without Antibiotics” claim (N = 300) were assigned to the CONV production system. Each sample was cultured for the detection of five antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARB). Genomic DNA was isolated from each sample and qPCR was used to determine the abundance of ten antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). The impacts of production system and city on ARB detection were assessed by the Likelihood-ratio chi-squared test. The impacts of production system and city on ARG abundance was assessed by two-way ANOVA.ResultsTetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli (CONV = 46.3%; RWA = 34.4%) and erythromycin-resistant Enterococcus (CONV = 48.0%; RWA = 37.5%) were more frequently (P < 0.01) detected in CONV. Detection of third generation cephalosporin-resistant E. coli (CONV = 5.7%; RWA = 1.0%), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (CONV = 0.0%; RWA = 0.0%) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CONV = 1.3%; RWA = 0.7%) did not differ (P = 1.00). The blaCTX-M ARG was more abundant in CONV (2.4 vs. 2.1 log copies/gram, P = 0.01) but the tet(A) (2.4 vs. 2.5 log copies/gram, P = 0.02) and tet(M) (3.6 vs. 3.9 log copies/gram, P < 0.01) ARGs were more abundant in RWA. aadA1, blaCMY-2, mecA, erm(B), and tet(B) abundances did not differ significantly (Fig. 5) (P > 0.05). Abundances of aac (6’)-Ie-aph (2”)-Ia and blaKPC-2 were not analyzed since they were quantified in less than 5% of the samples.ConclusionU.S. retail CONV and RWA ground beef harbor generally similar levels of AMR since only 5 of 15 AMR measurements were statistically different between production systems. Three AMR measurements were higher in CONV, while 2 AMR measurements were higher in RWA. These results are in general agreement with a recently published study authored by our group that examined antimicrobial resistance in CONV and RWA ground beef obtained from U.S. foodservice suppliers (Vikram et al., J. Food Prot. 81:2007–2018. 2018.). Together these studies suggest that antimicrobial use during U.S. cattle production has minimal to no impact on human exposure to AMR via ground beef.Figure 5.

Antimicrobial resistance: animal use of antibiotics

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lord Soulsby
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Growth Promotion ◽  
Modern Medicine ◽  
World Health ◽  
Growth Promoters ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Evolution Of Resistance ◽  
The Uk

The evolution of resistance to microbes is one of the most significant problems in modern medicine, posing serious threats to human and animal health. The early work on the use of antibiotics to bacterial infections gave much hope that infectious diseases were no longer a problem, especially in the human field. However, as their use, indeed over use, progressed, resistance (both mono-resistance and multi-resistance), which was often transferable between different strains and species of bacteria, emerged. In addition, the situation is increasingly complex, as various mechanisms of resistance, including a wide range of β -lactamases, are now complicating the issue. The use of antibiotics in animals, especially those used for growth promotion, has come in for serious criticism, especially those where their use should be reserved for difficult human infections. To lend control, certain antibiotic growth promoters have been banned from use in the EU and the UK.It is now a decade since the UK House of Lords Science and Technology Committee (1998) highlighted concerns about antimicrobial resistance and the dangers to human health of resistant organisms derived from animals fed antibiotics for growth promotion or the treatment of infectious diseases. The concern expressed in the House of Lords report was similar to that in other major reports on the subject, for example from the World Health Organization, the Wellcome Foundation, the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food and the Swann Report (1969) in which it was recommended that antibiotics used in human medicine should not be used as growth promoters in animals. At the press conference to launch the Lord’s Report it was emphasized that unless serious attention was given to dealing with resistance ‘we may find ourselves returning to a pre-antibiotic era’. The evolution of resistance is one of the significant problems in modern medicine, a much changed situation when the early work on antibiotics gave hope that infectious diseases were no longer a problem, especially in the human field. Optimism was so strong that the Surgeon General of the USA, William H Stewart, in 1969 advised the US Congress that ‘it is time to close the book on infectious diseases and to declare that work against the pestilence is over’. This comment was not only mistaken but it was also damaging to human health undertakings and also reduced funding for research on infectious diseases.Despite the widespread support for and dependence on antibiotics, resistance was increasingly reported worldwide and to recognize the global problem a group of medical workers established in 1981, at Tufts University, the Alliance for the Prudent use of Antibiotics (APUA). This now has affiliated chapters on over 60 countries, many in the developing world. APUA claims to be the ‘world’s leading organization conducting antimicrobial resistance research, education, capacity building and advocacy at the global and grass roots levels’.

Antimicrobial resistance in Bacillus-based biopesticide products

Microbiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 167 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mo Kaze ◽  
Lauren Brooks ◽  
Mark Sistrom
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Resistance Genes ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Multiple Drug ◽  
Drug Classes ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance Genes ◽  
Microbiological Techniques ◽  
High Concentrations

The crisis of antimicrobial resistant bacterial infections is one of the most pressing public health issues. Common agricultural practices have been implicated in the generation of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Biopesticides, live bacteria used for pest control, are non-pathogenic and considered safe for consumption. Application of bacteria-based pesticides to crops in high concentrations raises the possibility of unintentional contributions to the movement and generation of antimicrobial resistance genes in the environment. However, the presence of clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance genes and their resistance phenotypes are currently unknown. Here we use a combination of multiple bioinformatic and microbiological techniques to define resistomes of widely used biopesticides and determine how the presence of suspected antimicrobial resistance genes translates to observable resistance phenotypes in several biopesticide products. Our results demonstrate that biopesticide products are reservoirs of clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance genes and bear resistance to multiple drug classes.

scholarly journals Liposomes as Antibiotic Delivery Systems: A Promising Nanotechnological Strategy against Antimicrobial Resistance

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 2047
Author(s):  
Magda Ferreira ◽  
Maria Ogren ◽  
Joana N. R. Dias ◽  
Marta Silva ◽  
Solange Gil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Therapeutic Index ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Current Treatment ◽  
Delivery Systems ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Antimicrobial Drugs

Antimicrobial drugs are key tools to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Despite the early success of antibiotics, the current treatment of bacterial infections faces serious challenges due to the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria. Moreover, the decline of research and private investment in new antibiotics further aggravates this antibiotic crisis era. Overcoming the complexity of antimicrobial resistance must go beyond the search of new classes of antibiotics and include the development of alternative solutions. The evolution of nanomedicine has allowed the design of new drug delivery systems with improved therapeutic index for the incorporated compounds. One of the most promising strategies is their association to lipid-based delivery (nano)systems. A drug’s encapsulation in liposomes has been demonstrated to increase its accumulation at the infection site, minimizing drug toxicity and protecting the antibiotic from peripheral degradation. In addition, liposomes may be designed to fuse with bacterial cells, holding the potential to overcome antimicrobial resistance and biofilm formation and constituting a promising solution for the treatment of potential fatal multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In this review, we aim to address the applicability of antibiotic encapsulated liposomes as an effective therapeutic strategy for bacterial infections.

scholarly journals Diagnostic Tests Can Stem the Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance: Infectious Disease Professionals Can Help

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Trevas ◽  
Angela M Caliendo ◽  
Kimberly Hanson ◽  
Jaclyn Levy ◽  
Christine C Ginocchio
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Federal Funding ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Advisory Council ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Research Development ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant

Abstract Uptake of existing diagnostics to identify infections more accurately could minimize unnecessary antibiotic use and decrease the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) agree that, to improve uptake of existing diagnostics, healthcare providers, health systems, and payors all need better clinical and economic outcomes data to support use of diagnostic tests over empiric use of antibiotics, providers need better tools and education about diagnostic tests, and diagnostics developers need federal funding in the absence of a viable diagnostics market. Recommendations from PACCARB and the IDSA are amplified. Incentives for—and challenges to—diagnostics research, development, and uptake are summarized. Advocacy opportunities are given for infectious disease professionals to join the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

scholarly journals Technologies to address antimicrobial resistance

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (51) ◽  
pp. 12887-12895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Baker ◽  
David J. Payne ◽  
Rino Rappuoli ◽  
Ennio De Gregorio
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Outer Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Multiple Stakeholders ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Bacterial Outer Membrane

Bacterial infections have been traditionally controlled by antibiotics and vaccines, and these approaches have greatly improved health and longevity. However, multiple stakeholders are declaring that the lack of new interventions is putting our ability to prevent and treat bacterial infections at risk. Vaccine and antibiotic approaches still have the potential to address this threat. Innovative vaccine technologies, such as reverse vaccinology, novel adjuvants, and rationally designed bacterial outer membrane vesicles, together with progress in polysaccharide conjugation and antigen design, have the potential to boost the development of vaccines targeting several classes of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Furthermore, new approaches to deliver small-molecule antibacterials into bacteria, such as hijacking active uptake pathways and potentiator approaches, along with a focus on alternative modalities, such as targeting host factors, blocking bacterial virulence factors, monoclonal antibodies, and microbiome interventions, all have potential. Both vaccines and antibacterial approaches are needed to tackle the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and both areas have the underpinning science to address this need. However, a concerted research agenda and rethinking of the value society puts on interventions that save lives, by preventing or treating life-threatening bacterial infections, are needed to bring these ideas to fruition.

scholarly journals Protein–protein interactions in bacteria: a promising and challenging avenue towards the discovery of new antibiotics

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 2881-2896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Carro
Keyword(s):  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Protein Protein Interactions ◽  
Lead Discovery ◽  
Antibiotic Development ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Ppi Networks ◽  
New Antibiotics

Antibiotics are potent pharmacological weapons against bacterial infections; however, the growing antibiotic resistance of microorganisms is compromising the efficacy of the currently available pharmacotherapies. Even though antimicrobial resistance is not a new problem, antibiotic development has failed to match the growth of resistant pathogens and hence, it is highly critical to discover new anti-infective drugs with novel mechanisms of action which will help reducing the burden of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) are involved in a myriad of vital cellular processes and have become an attractive target to treat diseases. Therefore, targeting PPI networks in bacteria may offer a new and unconventional point of intervention to develop novel anti-infective drugs which can combat the ever-increasing rate of multidrug-resistant bacteria. This review describes the progress achieved towards the discovery of molecules that disrupt PPI systems in bacteria for which inhibitors have been identified and whose targets could represent an alternative lead discovery strategy to obtain new anti-infective molecules.

scholarly journals Mechanisms of quinolone resistance and implications for human and animal health

2010 ◽  
Vol 64 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 277-285
Author(s):  
Maja Velhner ◽  
Gordana Kozoderovic ◽  
Zora Jelesic ◽  
Igor Stojanov ◽  
Radomir Ratajac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Veterinary Medicine ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Quinolone Resistance ◽  
Topoisomerase Iv ◽  
Target Enzyme

Quinolone antibiotics have been widely used in human and veterinary medicine. This has caused the development of resistance and difficulties in the treatment of complicated bacterial infections in humans. The resistance to quinolones develops due to chromosome mutations and it can also be transferred by plasmids. The target enzyme for quinolones in Gram-negative bacteria is Gyrasa A, while the target enzyme in Grampositive bacteria is mostly topoisomerase IV. Gyrase A consists of two subunits encoded by genes gyrA and gyrB. The function of the enzyme is to introduce negative super coiling in DNA and therefore is essential for the replication of bacteria. Quinolone resistance develops if point mutations at 83 and/or 87 codon are introduced on gyrA. Establishing a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) to this group of antimicrobials will reveal possible mutations. Recently it was discovered that quinolone resistance is transmittable by plasmid termed PMQR (plasmid mediated quinolone resistance). The target gene marked qnr encodes a pentapeptide repeat family protein. Pentapeptide repeats form sheets, involved in protein-protein interactions. Qnr protein binds to GyrA protecting the enzyme from the inhibitory effect of ciprofloxacin. The distribution of qnr related resistance is higher in humans than in animals. In poultry, however, this type of resistance is present more than in other animals. Plasmid mediated resistance contributes to the faster spread of quinolone resistance. Proper food handling will significantly contribute to decreasing the risk from infection to which people are exposed. In medical and veterinary laboratories antimicrobial resistance monitoring in clinical and environmental isolates is advised. Since correlation between antibiotics application and antimicrobial resistance is often suggested, antimicrobial use must be under strict control of the authorities both in human and in veterinary medicine. .

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