Broad-specificity efflux pumps and their role in multidrug resistance of Gram-negative bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Antibiotic resistance mechanisms reported in Gram-negative bacteria are causing a worldwide health problem. The continuous dissemination of 'multidrug-resistant' (MDR) bacteria drastically reduces the efficacy of our antibiotic 'arsenal' and consequently increases the frequency of therapeutic failure. In MDR bacteria, the overexpression of efflux pumps that expel structurally unrelated drugs contributes to the reduced susceptibility by decreasing the intracellular concentration of antibiotics. During the last decade, several clinical data have indicated an increasing involvement of efflux pumps in the emergence and dissemination of resistant Gram-negative bacteria. It is necessary to clearly define the molecular, functional and genetic bases of the efflux pump in order to understand the tr

SUBMITTER: Nikaido H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3546547 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature