AI Summary
The article discusses the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii, a Gram-negative pathogen responsible for nosocomial infections. The lack of new therapeutic approaches has led to increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. The review explores existing chemotherapy, resistance mechanisms, and potential strategies for identifying novel targets and drug scaffolds. It emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary approaches, including combinational therapy, high-throughput screening, drug repurposing, nanotechnology, and antimicrobial peptides, in combating drug-resistant A. baumannii strains and advancing drug discovery efforts.
Globally, the emergence of anti-microbial resistance in pathogens has become a serious threat to human health and well-being. Infections caused by drug-resistant microorganisms in hospitals are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the ESKAPE group and is widely associated with nosocomial infections. It persists in hospitals and survives antibiotic treatment, prompting acute infections such as urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, and wound-related infections. Innovation void in drug discovery and the lack of new therapeutic measures against A. baumannii continue to afflict infection control against the rising drug-resistant cases. The emergence of drug-resistant A. baumannii strains has also led to the incessant collapse of newly discovered antibiotics. Therefore exploring novel strategies is requisite to give an impetus to the A. baumannii drug discovery. The present review discusses the bacterial research community efforts in the field of A. baumannii, focusing on the strategies adapted to identifying potent scaffolds and novel targets to bolster and diversify the chemical space available for drug discovery. Firstly, we have discussed existing chemotherapy and various anti-microbial resistance mechanisms in A. baumannii bacterial strains. Next, we are elaborating on multidisciplinary approaches and strategies that may be the way forward to combat the current menace caused by the drug-resistant A. baumannii strains. The review highlights the recent advances in drug discovery, including combinational therapy, high-throughput screening, drug repurposing, nanotechnology, and anti-microbial peptides, which are imperative tools to fight bacterial pathogens in the future.