A review on anti-adhesion therapies of bacterial diseases

Abstract

Background: Infections caused by bacteria are a foremost cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. The common strategy of treating bacterial infections is by local or systemic administration of antimicrobial agents. Currently, the increasing antibiotic resistance is a serious and global problem. Since the most important agent for infection is bacteria attaching to host cells, hence, new techniques and attractive approaches that interfere with the ability of the bacteria to adhere to tissues of the host or detach them from the tissues at the early stages of infection are good therapeutic strategies.

Methods: All available national and international databanks were searched using the search keywords. Here, we review various approaches to anti-adhesion therapy, including use of receptor and adhesion analogs, dietary constituents, sublethal concentrations of antibiotics, and adhesion-based vaccines.

Results: Altogether, the findings suggest that interference with bacterial adhesion serves as a new means to fight infectious diseases.

Conclusion: Anti-adhesion-based therapies can be effective in prevention and treatment of bacterial infections, but further work is needed to elucidate underlying mechanisms.

Keywords: Adhesins; Anti-adhesion therapy; Antibiotic resistance; Infectious disease.