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Review
. 2020 Jun 21;8(6):935.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8060935.

Antibiotic Resistance Profiles, Molecular Mechanisms and Innovative Treatment Strategies of Acinetobacter baumannii

Corneliu Ovidiu Vrancianu  1   2 , Irina Gheorghe  1   2 , Ilda Barbu Czobor  1   2 , Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Antibiotic Resistance Profiles, Molecular Mechanisms and Innovative Treatment Strategies of Acinetobacter baumannii

Corneliu Ovidiu Vrancianu et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest challenges for the clinical sector and industry, environment and societal development. One of the most important pathogens responsible for severe nosocomial infections is Acinetobacter baumannii, a Gram-negative bacterium from the Moraxellaceae family, due to its various resistance mechanisms, such as the β-lactamases production, efflux pumps, decreased membrane permeability and altered target site of the antibiotic. The enormous adaptive capacity of A. baumannii and the acquisition and transfer of antibiotic resistance determinants contribute to the ineffectiveness of most current therapeutic strategies, including last-line or combined antibiotic therapy. In this review, we will present an update of the antibiotic resistance profiles and underlying mechanisms in A. baumannii and the current progress in developing innovative strategies for combating multidrug-resistant A. baumannii (MDRAB) infections.

Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii; CRISPR; antimicrobial peptide; antimicrobial resistance; bacteriophage; β-lactamases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-based targeting of mobile genetic elements (MGEs). This system contains the cas9 nuclease, sgRNA transcript and other structural elements. In the first stage, sgRNA forms a complex with Cas 9 nuclease. The sgRNA transcript guide cas9 nuclease to introduce double-stranded breaks at the ends of the target DNA, leading to cleavage. Direct target recognition is achieved by recognizing protospacer adjacent motifs (PAM), short DNA sequences that are not found in CRISPR loci, so there is no risk of self-degradation. This system can be used to edit the genome of several antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, leading to the removal of resistance determinants. Figure created with https://biorender.com/.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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