Intoxication of antibiotic persisters by host RNS inactivates their efflux machinery during infection.

ABSTRACT: The host environment is of critical importance for antibiotic efficacy. By impacting bacterial machineries, stresses encountered by pathogens during infection promote the formation of phenotypic variants that are transiently insensitive to the action of antibiotics. It is assumed that these recalcitrant bacteria-termed persisters-contribute to antibiotic treatment failure and relapsing infections. Recently, we demonstrated that host reactive nitrogen species (RNS) transiently protect persisters against the action of β-lactam antibiotics by delaying their regrowth within host cells. Here, we discovered that RNS intoxication of persisters also collaterally sensitizing them to fluoroquinolones during infection, explaining the higher efficiency of fluoroquinolones against intramacrophage Salmo

SUBMITTER: Ronneau S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10903880 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature