A research team from the Medical University of Bialystok (Suhanya V. Pasad, Krzysztof Fiedoruk, Magdalena Zakrzewska, Robert Bucki) published the article „Glyoxylate Shunt and Pyruvate-to-Acetoin Shift Are Specific Stress Responses Induced by Colistin and Ceragenin CSA-13 in Enterobacter hormaechei ST89” in the Microbiology Spectrum, ASM Journals.
The Enterobacter hormaechei ST89 bacteria have been studied for their resistance to the prolonged effects of two antibiotics targeting bacterial cell membranes: conventional colistin and CSA-13, a member of new generation antimicrobial agents known as ceragenins. These substances affect bacterial carbon metabolism, leading to an alkalization of the bacterial cytoplasm However, researchers have demonstrated that bacteria exposed to ceragenins exhibit reduced resistance to acidic stress, indicating possible adaptation to the action of these antibiotics. The differences in the level of metabolic response of bacteria treated with colistin and CSA-13 are likely result of various mechanisms of action of both substances. The conducted research allows for a better understanding of the mechanisms through which bacteria develop resistance to antibiotic treatments.
The research was funded by the grant from the National Science Center (NCN) - OPUS (UMO-2018/31/B/NZ6/02476) and the Medical University of Białystok (SUB/1/DN/21/004/1122), and project of international doctoral – ImPRESSp, co-financed by the Ministry of Education and Science and the European Union Framework Program for research and innovation Horizon 2020 as part of the Maria Skłodowska-Curie COFUND activities.
Link to the article: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.01215-23