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. 2015 Apr 9:6:282.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00282. eCollection 2015.

Drug repurposing as an alternative for the treatment of recalcitrant bacterial infections

Adrián Rangel-Vega  1 , Lawrence R Bernstein  2 , Edna Ayerim Mandujano-Tinoco  3 , Silvia Julieta García-Contreras  4 , Rodolfo García-Contreras  1
Affiliations

Drug repurposing as an alternative for the treatment of recalcitrant bacterial infections

Adrián Rangel-Vega et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Bacterial infection remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the options for treating such infections are decreasing, due the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The pharmaceutical industry has produced few new types of antibiotics in more than a decade. Researchers are taking several approaches toward developing new classes of antibiotics, including (1) focusing on new targets and processes, such as bacterial cell-cell communication that upregulates virulence; (2) designing inhibitors of bacterial resistance, such as blockers of multidrug efflux pumps; and (3) using alternative antimicrobials such as bacteriophages. In addition, the strategy of finding new uses for existing drugs is beginning to produce results: antibacterial properties have been discovered for existing anticancer, antifungal, anthelmintic, and anti-inflammatory drugs. In this review, we discuss the antimicrobial properties of gallium compounds, 5-fluorouracil, ciclopirox, diflunisal, and some other FDA-approved drugs and argue that their repurposing for the treatment of bacterial infections, including those that are multidrug resistant, is a feasible strategy.

Keywords: 5-fluorouracil; bacterial infections; ciclopirox; diflunisal; drug repurposing; gallium.

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