The biology and future prospects of antivirulence therapies.
The emergence and increasing prevalence of bacterial strains that are resistant to available antibiotics demand the discovery of new therapeutic approaches. Targeting bacterial virulence is an alternative approach to antimicrobial therapy that offers promising opportunities to inhibit pathogenesis and its consequences without placing immediate life-or-death pressure on the target bacterium. Certain virulence factors have been shown to be potential targets for drug design and therapeutic intervention, whereas new insights are crucial for exploiting others. Targeting virulence represents a new paradigm to empower the clinician to prevent and treat infectious diseases.
Cegelski
Lynette
L
Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
Marshall
Garland R
GR
Eldridge
Gary R
GR
Hultgren
Scott J
SJ
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D018441:Biofilms; D015195:Drug Design; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D014774:Virulence / Q000187:drug effects*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000502:physiology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D037521:Virulence Factors