Bacteriocins in the Era of Antibiotic Resistance: Rising to the Challenge

Abstract

Decades of antibiotic misuse in clinical settings, animal feed, and within the food industry have led to a concerning rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Every year, antimicrobial-resistant infections cause 700,000 deaths, with 10 million casualties expected by 2050, if this trend continues. Hence, innovative solutions are imperative to curb antibiotic resistance. Bacteria produce a potent arsenal of drugs with remarkable diversity that are all distinct from those of current antibiotics. Bacteriocins are potent small antimicrobial peptides synthetized by certain bacteria that may be appointed as alternatives to traditional antibiotics. These molecules are strategically employed by commensals, mostly Firmicutes, to colonize and persist in the human gut. Bacteriocins form channels in the target cell membrane, leading to leakage of low-molecular-weight, causing the disruption of the proton motive force. The objective of this review was to list and discuss the potential of bacteriocins as antimicrobial therapeutics for infections produced mainly by resistant pathogens.

Efficacy of Phage- and Bacteriocin-Based Therapies in Combatting Nosocomial MRSA Infections

“…There were no clinical signs of mastitis in the treatment group following two weeks of treatment with nisin; however, mastitis in the control group remained for the entirety of the study. Nisin is currently being investigated in a clinical trial examining its effectiveness at treating infections causing ventilator-associated pneumonia, and one of the pathogens of interest in this trial is S. aureus ( Gradisteanu Pircalabioru et al, 2021 ). Intrabiotics is currently performing a phase I clinical trial utilizing nisin and the protegrin-like peptide IB-367 to treat acne ( Gradisteanu Pircalabioru et al, 2021 ).…”

The Role and Regulatory Network of the CiaRH Two-Component System in Streptococcal Species

“…Bacteriocins, proteins or peptides with pronounced antimicrobial activity, are produced by certain bacteria to inhibit the growth of neighboring bacteria belonging to the same or different species (Negash and Tsehai, 2020;Gradisteanu Pircalabioru et al, 2021). In S. mutans, S. gordonii, and S. pneumoniae, the CiaRH system and its cognate signal play a key role in bacteriocin production (Qi et al, 2004;Dawid et al, 2009;Davey et al, 2016b).…”

A Review on Microorganisms-Derived Products as Potential Antimicrobial Agents

“…Also, Choeisoongnern et al [21] reported that BLIS produced by Pediococcus pentosaceus, and Enterococcus faecium from fermented food inhibits the growth of Carnobacterium maltraromaticum, Candida albicans, Listeria ivanovii, Listeria innocula, Pseudomonasc aeruginosa, Streptococcus mutans, and S. aureus. More recently, Pircalabioru et al [22] comprehensively reviewed bacteriocins' potential as an antimicrobial agent against infections mainly due to resistant pathogens i.e., MRSA. In contrast, Jawan et al [23] suggest that BLIS from Lactococcus lactis Gh1 inhibits the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and can be used in the food industries as functional foods for the preparation of starter culture and probiotic products.…”

“…Bacteriocins in Gram-positive bacteria follow two possible mechanisms, as shown in Figure 2. Class I bacteriocins are cationic lantibiotic (e.g., nisin) that electrostatically binds with the negatively charged membrane phospholipids II, allowing further interaction of bacteriocin's hydrophobic domain with the target cytoplasmic membrane (lipid II), thereby preventing the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan [22,[41][42].…”

“…Lipopeptides (LPs) are NRPs produced by Bacillales, have significant antimicrobial activity [44]. LAB is considered the primary producer of ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides, as reviewed by Alvarez-Sieiro et al [45] and Pircalabioru et al [22]. However, the classification scheme for antimicrobial compounds produced by Bacillus is not explored as compared to LAB.…”