| Peer-Reviewed

Mechanisms of Microbial Resistance to Known Antibiotics

Received: 24 May 2015     Accepted: 26 June 2015     Published: 8 September 2015
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Most infectious diseases are known to be caused by microorganisms. The discovery of antimicrobial agents has saved the human race from a lot of sufferings due to the burden of these infectious diseases. Over the years, microorganisms have developed resistance to known antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance among bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other disease-causing organisms is a serious threat to infectious disease management globally. Factors responsible for antimicrobial resistance include changing microbial characteristics, selective pressures of antimicrobial use, as well as societal and technological changes that enhance the development and transmission of drug-resistant organisms. Microbial resistance to antibiotics can either be intrinsic or acquired. Different mechanisms of microbial resistance to known antibiotics have been proposed. These include antibiotic inactivation, ribosome protection, biofilm formation, target modification, reduced permeability to antimicrobial agents and increasing efflux of antibiotics from microbial cells. It is believed that the understanding of these mechanisms is important in the discovery of better ways to keep existing agents useful and also in the design of better antimicrobial agents that are not affected by the currently known, predicted, or unknown mechanisms of resistance.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 3, Issue 5-1)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Who Is Afraid of the Microbes

DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14
Page(s) 20-24
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Antimicrobial Agents, Diseases, Chemotherapy, Resistance, Microorganisms

References
[1] Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Staphylococcus aureus Resistant to Vancomycin,” United States, MMWR Weekly, . Report, 2002, 51, 565-567
[2] B. Bozdogan, and P.C. Appelbaum, “Oxazolidinones: Activity, Mode of Action, and Mechanism of Resistance,” International JournalAntimicrobial Agents, 23, 113-119, 2004.
[3] A, Fleming, “On Antibacterial Action Of Culture of Penicillium, with special reference to their use in Isolation of Bacillus influenza,” British Journal of Experimental Pathology, 10, 226- 236, 1929.
[4] C. R. Chen, M. Malik, M. Snyder, and K. Drlica, “DNA Gyrase and Topoisomerase IV on the Bacterial Chromosome: Quinolone-Induced DNA Cleavage,” Journal of Molecular Biology, 258, 627-637, 2006.
[5] R. Quintiliani and P. Courvalin, Mechanisms of resistance to antimicrobial agents, In: Manual of Clinical Microbiology, edited by; P. R. Murray, E. J. Baron, M. A. Pfaller, F. R. Tenover, and R. H. Yolken. ASM Press: Washington, D.C., 2005, 1308-1326.
[6] D. K. Byarugaba, Antibiotic Policies: Theory and Practice, edited by; I. Gould and V. Meer. Springer: New York, 2005, 617-646.
[7] C. Walsh, “Molecular Mechanisms that Confer Antibacterial Drug Resistance,” Nature, 406, 775- 781, 2000.
[8] T. Schneider, T. Kruse, R. Wimmer, I. Wiedemann, V. Sass and U. Pag, “Plectasin, a Fungal Defensin, Targets the Bacterial Cell Wall Precursor Lipid II,” Science. 328, 1168-1172, 2010.
[9] F. J. Schmitz and A. C. Fluit. Mechanisms of Resistance., In: Infectious Diseases. Edited by Armstrong, D. and Cohen, S. Mosby, Ltd., London., 1999, 721-724.
[10] T. Rezanka, J. Spizek and K. Sigler “Medicinal use of Lincosamides and Microbial Resistance to them,” Anti-infectious Agents Medical Chemotherapy, 6, 133-144, 2007.
[11] D. K., Byarugaba, “A view on Antmicrobial Resistance in Developing Countries and Responsible Risk Factors,” International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 24, 105-110, 2007.
[12] F. M., Aarestrup, A. M. Seyfarth, H. D. Emborg, K., Pedersen, R. S., Hendriksen, and F Bager,. “Effect of Abolishment of the use of Antimicrobial Agents for Growth Promotion on occurrence of Antimicrobial Resistance in Fecal Enterococci from Food Animals in Denmark," Antimicrobial Agents Chemotherapy, 45, 2054-2059, 2001.
[13] O. Gajic, G. Buist, M., Kojic, L. Topisirovic, O. P. Kuipers, and J. Kok, “Novel Mechanism of Bacteriocin Secretion and Immunity carried out by Lactococcal Multidrug Resistance Proteins,” Journal of Biological Chememotherapy 278, 34291-34298, 2003.
[14] N. Woodford, “Biological Counterstrike: Antibiotic Resistance Mechanisms of Gram- positive cocci,” Clinical Microbiology Infections 11 (3): 2-21, 2005.
[15] C. Vuong, S. Kocianova, J. M. Voyich,Y. Yao, E. R. Fischer, and F. R. DeLeo, “A crucial role for Exopolysaccharide Modification in Bacterial Biofilm Formation,Immune Evasion, and Virulence,” Journal of Biological Chemotherapy, 279, 54881-54886, 2004.
[16] A. Dessen, A. M. Di Guilmi, T. Vernet, and Dideberg, O., “Molecular Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance in Gram- positive Pathogens,” Current Drug Targets Infectious Diseases 1, 63-77, 2001.
[17] I. Artsimovitch, C. Chu, A. S. Lynch, and R. Landick, “A new class of Bacterial RNA Polymerase Inhibitor affects Nucleotide addition,” Science, 302, 650-654, 2013.
[18] S. Chang, D. M. Sievert and J.C. Hageman, “Infection with vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus containing the vanA resistance gene. N Engl J Med. 2003; 348:1342–1347, 2005.
[19] I. Chopra, and M. Roberts, “Tetracycline antibiotics: mode of action, applications, molecular biology, and epidemiology of bacterial resistance,” Microbiol Mol. Biol. Rev. 65: 232–260, 2011.
[20] R. P. Lange, H. H. Locher, P. C. Wyss, and R.L. Then, “The targets of currently used antibacterial agents: lessons for drug discovery,” Curr. Pharm. Des., 2007; 13: 3140- 3154.
[21] P. Butaye, A. Cloeckaert, and S. Schwarz, “Mobile genes coding for efflux-mediated antimicrobial resistance in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria,” Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents, 22: 205– 210, 2003.
[22] S. Jana, and J. K. Deb, Molecular understanding of aminoglycoside action and resistance. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 2006; 70: 140-150.
[23] T. K. Lu, and J. J. Collins, “Dispersing biofilms with engineered enzymatic bacteriophage,” Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 104: 11197–11202, 2007.
[24] A. Bera, S. Herbert, A. Jakob, W. Vollmer, and F. Gotz, “Why are pathogenic staphylococci so lysozyme resistant? The peptidoglycan O-acetyltransferase OatA is the major determinant for Lysozyme Resistance of Staphylococcus aureus. Molecular Microbiology, 55, 778-787.
[25] M. A. Kohanski, M. A. DePristo, and J. J Collins,. “Sublethal Antibiotic Treatment leads to Multidrug Resistance via Radical- Induced Mutagenesis,” Molecular Cell. 37, 311-320, 2015
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ahamefule Augustus Kelechi, Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu. (2015). Mechanisms of Microbial Resistance to Known Antibiotics. Science Journal of Public Health, 3(5-1), 20-24. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Ahamefule Augustus Kelechi; Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu. Mechanisms of Microbial Resistance to Known Antibiotics. Sci. J. Public Health 2015, 3(5-1), 20-24. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Ahamefule Augustus Kelechi, Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu. Mechanisms of Microbial Resistance to Known Antibiotics. Sci J Public Health. 2015;3(5-1):20-24. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14,
      author = {Ahamefule Augustus Kelechi and Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu},
      title = {Mechanisms of Microbial Resistance to Known Antibiotics},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {3},
      number = {5-1},
      pages = {20-24},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.s.2015030501.14},
      abstract = {Most infectious diseases are known to be caused by microorganisms. The discovery of antimicrobial agents has saved the human race from a lot of sufferings due to the burden of these infectious diseases. Over the years, microorganisms have developed resistance to known antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance among bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other disease-causing organisms is a serious threat to infectious disease management globally. Factors responsible for antimicrobial resistance include changing microbial characteristics, selective pressures of antimicrobial use, as well as societal and technological changes that enhance the development and transmission of drug-resistant organisms. Microbial resistance to antibiotics can either be intrinsic or acquired. Different mechanisms of microbial resistance to known antibiotics have been proposed. These include antibiotic inactivation, ribosome protection, biofilm formation, target modification, reduced permeability to antimicrobial agents and increasing efflux of antibiotics from microbial cells. It is believed that the understanding of these mechanisms is important in the discovery of better ways to keep existing agents useful and also in the design of better antimicrobial agents that are not affected by the currently known, predicted, or unknown mechanisms of resistance.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Mechanisms of Microbial Resistance to Known Antibiotics
    AU  - Ahamefule Augustus Kelechi
    AU  - Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu
    Y1  - 2015/09/08
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14
    T2  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Science Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 20
    EP  - 24
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7950
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.s.2015030501.14
    AB  - Most infectious diseases are known to be caused by microorganisms. The discovery of antimicrobial agents has saved the human race from a lot of sufferings due to the burden of these infectious diseases. Over the years, microorganisms have developed resistance to known antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance among bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other disease-causing organisms is a serious threat to infectious disease management globally. Factors responsible for antimicrobial resistance include changing microbial characteristics, selective pressures of antimicrobial use, as well as societal and technological changes that enhance the development and transmission of drug-resistant organisms. Microbial resistance to antibiotics can either be intrinsic or acquired. Different mechanisms of microbial resistance to known antibiotics have been proposed. These include antibiotic inactivation, ribosome protection, biofilm formation, target modification, reduced permeability to antimicrobial agents and increasing efflux of antibiotics from microbial cells. It is believed that the understanding of these mechanisms is important in the discovery of better ways to keep existing agents useful and also in the design of better antimicrobial agents that are not affected by the currently known, predicted, or unknown mechanisms of resistance.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 5-1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Biotechnology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

  • Department of Biotechnology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

  • Sections