Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), 26300, Gambang, Kuantan, Malaysia.
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Natural and Applied Sciences (Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü), Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey.
Pharmacol Rep. 2021 Feb;73(1):1-16. doi: 10.1007/s43440-020-00160-9. Epub 2020 Sep 18.
The discovery of antibiotics ought to have ended the issue of bacterial infections, but this was not the case as it has led to the evolution of various mechanisms of bacterial resistance against various antibiotics. The efflux pump remains one of the mechanisms through which organisms develop resistance against antibiotics; this is because organisms can extrude most of the clinically relevant antibiotics from the interior cell environment to the exterior environment via the efflux pumps. Efflux pumps are thought to contribute significantly to biofilm formation as highlighted by various studies. Therefore, the inhibition of these efflux pumps can be a potential way of improving the activity of antibiotics, particularly now that the discovery of novel antibiotics is becoming tedious. Efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs) are molecules that can inhibit efflux pumps; they have been considered potential therapeutic agents for rejuvenating the activity of antibiotics that have already lost their activity against bacteria. However, studies are yet to determine the specific substrates for such pumps; the effect of altered efflux activity of these pumps on biofilm formation is still being investigated. A clear knowledge of the involvement of efflux pumps in biofilm development could aid in developing new agents that can interfere with their function and help to prevent biofilms formation; thereby, improving the outcome of treatment strategies. This review focuses on the novel update of EPIs and discusses the evidence of the roles of efflux pumps in biofilm formation; the potential approaches towards overcoming the increasing problem of biofilm-based infections are also discussed.
抗生素的发现本应终结细菌感染问题,但事实并非如此,因为这导致了各种细菌对抗生素产生耐药性的机制的进化。外排泵仍然是生物体产生抗生素耐药性的机制之一;这是因为生物体可以通过外排泵将大多数临床相关的抗生素从细胞内部环境中排出到外部环境中。各种研究表明,外排泵被认为对生物膜形成有重大贡献。因此,抑制这些外排泵可能是提高抗生素活性的一种潜在方法,尤其是在发现新型抗生素变得繁琐的情况下。外排泵抑制剂 (EPIs) 是可以抑制外排泵的分子;它们被认为是恢复已经失去对细菌活性的抗生素活性的潜在治疗剂。然而,研究尚未确定这些泵的特定底物;这些泵的外排活性改变对生物膜形成的影响仍在研究中。对外排泵在生物膜形成中的作用的清晰了解可能有助于开发新的可以干扰其功能的药物,并有助于防止生物膜形成;从而改善治疗策略的结果。这篇综述重点介绍了 EPIs 的最新研究进展,并讨论了外排泵在生物膜形成中的作用的证据;还讨论了克服日益严重的生物膜相关感染问题的潜在方法。