title: Anti-adhesion therapy of bacterial diseases: prospects and problems.
abstract: The alarming increase in drug-resistant bacteria makes a search for novel means of fighting bacterial infections imperative. An attractive approach is the use of agents that interfere with the ability of the bacteria to adhere to tissues of the host, since such adhesion is one of the initial stages of the infectious process. The validity of this approach has been unequivocally demonstrated in experiments performed in a wide variety of animals, from mice to monkeys, and recently also in humans. Here we review various approaches to anti-adhesion therapy, including the use of receptor and adhesin analogs, dietary constituents, sublethal concentrations of antibiotics and adhesin-based vaccines. Because anti-adhesive agents are not bactericidal, the propagation and spread of resistant strains is much less likely to occur than as a result of exposure to bactericidal agents, such as antibiotics. Anti-adhesive drugs, once developed, may, therefore, serve as a new means to fight infectious diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel. aofek@post.tau.ac.il
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ofek
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hasty
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sharon
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013682:Teichoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D002241:Carbohydrates; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010455:Peptides; D013682:Teichoic Acids; C009900:lipoteichoic acid; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid