The University of Hong Kong: Silver-based antibacterial agents can be used as antibiotic adjuvants to fight drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

This research solves the long-standing problem of the molecular target of silver in Staphylococcus aureus, provides insights into the sustainable bacterial sensitivity of silver, and provides a new way to combat antimicrobial resistance

background

Antibiotics are drugs used to kill bacteria and treat bacterial infections

Staphylococcus aureus is a round gram-positive bacterium, which is a dangerous and diseased pathogen for humans.

Important findings

Metal ions have traditionally been used as antibacterial agents due to their inherent broad-spectrum antibacterial properties and less drug resistance

In this study, using the LC-GE-ICP-MS custom method, the team successfully isolated and identified 38 authentic Staphylococcus aureus Ag+ binding proteins (Ag+-proteome) in the whole cell range

Based on the discovered molecular mechanism, they further proved that Ag+/AgNP can enhance the efficacy of a wide range of antibiotics, make MRSA sensitive to antibiotics, and slow down the evolution of resistance to Staphylococcus aureus

Journal Reference :

Haibo Wang, Minji Wang, Xiaohan Xu, Peng Gao, Zeling Xu, Qi Zhang, Hongyan Li, Aixin Yan, Richard Yi-Tsun Kao, Hongzhe Sun.