Circumventing colistin resistance by combining colistin and antimicrobial peptides to kill colistin-resistant and multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Colistin is a 'last-line' antibiotic used to treat multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, but colistin resistance has emerged. Colistin normally binds to the lipid A moiety on the bacterial outer membrane, where it then destroys the bacterial membrane. Mobilize colistin resistance (MCR, encoded by mcr-1 and others) is a phosphoethanolamine transferase that modifies lipid A, preventing colistin binding. We hypothesized that combining pore-forming AMPs and colistin will circumvent this mechanism and reduce the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of colistin for both colistin- and multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

Methods

In vitro cultures were incubated for 18 h after combining bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter bauman

SUBMITTER: Witherell KS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7644326 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature