Boosting bacterial metabolism to combat antibiotic resistance

Prerna Bhargava; James J Collins

doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2015.01.012

Boosting bacterial metabolism to combat antibiotic resistance

Cell Metab. 2015 Feb 3;21(2):154-155. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.01.012.

Authors

Prerna Bhargava¹, James J Collins²

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
² Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: jimjc@mit.edu.

PMID: 25651168
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.01.012

Abstract

The metabolic state of a bacterial cell influences its susceptibility to antibiotics. In this issue, Peng et al. (2015) show that resistant bacteria can be sensitized to antibiotic treatment through the addition of exogenous metabolites that stimulate central metabolic pathways and increase drug uptake.

Publication types

Comment

MeSH terms

Alanine / metabolism*
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
Bacteria / drug effects*
Drug Resistance, Bacterial / drug effects*
Female
Glucose / metabolism*
Kanamycin / pharmacology*

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Kanamycin
Glucose
Alanine