Project description:Antibiotic use can lead to expansion of multi-drug resistant pathobionts within the gut microbiome that can cause life-threatening infections. Selective alternatives to conventional antibiotics are in dire need. Here, we describe a Klebsiella PhageBank that enables the rapid design of antimicrobial bacteriophage cocktails to treat multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. Using a transposon library in carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae, we identified host factors required for phage infection in major Klebsiella phage families. Leveraging the diversity of the PhageBank and experimental evolution strategies, we formulated combinations of phages that minimize the occurrence of phage resistance in vitro. Optimized bacteriophage cocktails selectively suppressed the burden of multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae in the mouse gut microbiome and drove bacterial populations to lose key virulence factors that act as phage receptors. Further, phage-mediated diversification of bacterial populations in the gut enabled co-evolution of phage variants with higher virulence and a broader host range. Altogether, the Klebsiella PhageBank represents a roadmap for both phage researchers and clinicians to enable phage therapy against a critical multidrug-resistant human pathogen.
Project description:The emergence and spread of polymyxin resistance, especially among Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates threaten the effective management of infections. This study profiled for polymyxin resistance mechanisms and investigated the activity of polymyxins plus vancomycin against carbapenem- and polymyxin-resistant K. pneumoniae.
Project description:The emergence and spread of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-KPN) infections have worsened the current situation worldwide. Clinically, cotrimoxazole (CTX) and amikacin (AMI) are considered to be the preferred drugs in the treatment of (CR-KPN). But for now, the extensive use of cotrimoxazole (CTX) and amikacin (AMI) During the course of treatment leads to the emergence of cotrimoxazole- and amikacin-resistant infections, which is of great clinical concern. Previous evidence has shown that bacteria with reduced metabolism tend to be resistant to antibiotics, however, the mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, proteomics was performed on the sensitive, cotrimoxazole-resistant, amikacin-resistant and cotrimoxazole/amikacin-both-resistant KPN clinical isolates, and 2266 proteins were identified in total by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) analysis. Further bioinformatic analysis showed down-regulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle pathway and up-regulation of alcohol metabolic or glutathione metabolism processes, which may contribute to ROS clearance and cell survival, in drug-resistant isolates. Finally, combined with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Amikacin and Cotrimoxazole on different KPN isolates, we identified nine proteins contributed mostly to such an alteration and the survival of bacteria under drug pressure, which could reveal novel mechanisms or pathways involved in drug resistance. These proteins and their pathways might be used as targets for the development of novel therapeutics against antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infections.
