Diabetes potentiates the emergence and expansion of antibiotic resistance.

ABSTRACT: Individuals with diabetes mellitus frequently develop severe skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) that are recalcitrant to antibiotic treatment. We examined how diabetes affects the emergence of antibiotic resistance in a Staphylococcus aureus SSTI. We determined that S. aureus evolves antibiotic resistance rapidly in diabetic mice, while resistance did not occur in nondiabetic mice over the course of infection. Diabetes-associated immune cell dysfunction plays a minor role in the emergence of resistance, while hyperglycemia plays a dominant role facilitating the expansion and takeover of resistant mutants in diabetic infections. Furthermore, vancomycin intermediate resistant isolates display a pronounced fitness defect in nondiabetic mice but not in diabetic mice. Togethe

SUBMITTER: Shook JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11817934 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature