Multidrug evolutionary strategies to reverse antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic treatment has two conflicting effects: the desired, immediate effect of inhibiting bacterial growth and the undesired, long-term effect of promoting the evolution of resistance. Although these contrasting outcomes seem inextricably linked, recent work has revealed several ways by which antibiotics can be combined to inhibit bacterial growth while, counterintuitively, selecting against resistant mutants. Decoupling treatment efficacy from the risk of resistance can be achieved by exploiting specific interactions between drugs, and the ways in which resistance mutations to a given drug can modulate these interactions or increase the sensitivity of the bacteria to other compounds. Although their…

• FH
  F. Hoffmann-La Roche
• NI
  National Institute for Health and Care Research
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: R01-GM081617
• HE
  H2020 European Research Council

  Award: 281891