Common themes in antimicrobial and anticancer drug resistance

Abstract

Antimicrobial and anticancer drug resistance represent two of the main global challenges for the public health, requiring immediate practical solutions. In line with this, we need a better understanding of the origins of drug resistance in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and the evolutionary processes leading to the occurrence of adaptive phenotypes in response to the selective pressure of therapeutic agents. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the analogies between the antimicrobial and anticancer drug resistance. Antimicrobial and anticancer drugs share common targets and mechanisms of action as well as similar mechanisms of resistance (e.g., increased drug efflux, drug inactivation, target alteration, persister cells’ selection, protection of bacterial communities/malignant tissue by an extracellular matrix, etc.). Both individual and collective stress responses triggered by the chemotherapeutic agent involving complex intercellular communication processes, as well as with the surrounding microenvironment, will be considered. The common themes in antimicrobial and anticancer drug resistance recommend the utility of bacterial experimental models for unraveling the mechanisms that facilitate the evolution and adaptation of malignant cells to antineoplastic drugs.

Combinations of Photodynamic Therapy with Other Minimally Invasive Therapeutic Technologies against Cancer and Microbial Infections

“…The anticancer and antimicrobial therapeutic approach that uses chemical compounds to kill fast-growing cells in the body is generally referred to as chemotherapy [ 109 ]. Chemotherapy drugs now in clinical use are mainly derived from basic research involving the prospecting of natural sources, followed by a series of standard chemical and biochemical research studies, including chemical synthesis and modification to facilitate subsequent structure-activity studies and the enhancement of efficacy and selectivity [ 110 ].…”

“…The candidate drug compounds translate to clinical applications and clinical case studies through preclinical studies and clinical trials. The rising incidence of resistance fueled PDT research [ 109 , 111 ] among other alternate approaches, most of which are showing promising results in clinical trials [ 112 ]. Chemical modification of known effective drugs is one of the methods used to overcome chemotherapy drug resistance.…”

“…The chemotherapy approach generally includes antibiotic and anticancer chemotherapy, with antibiotic drugs used for antibiotic chemotherapy and anticancer drugs used in anticancer chemotherapy. Both have suffered different degrees of the development of resistance [ 109 ].…”

Homo-BacPROTAC-induced degradation of ClpC1 as a strategy against drug-resistant mycobacteria

“…In general, mechanisms that govern AMR are similar to those that diminish the effectiveness of anti-cancer treatments 6 , 7 . Therefore, some of the strategies used to combat drug resistance in cancer may also be implementable in the context of AMR.…”

BacPROTAC-induced degradation of ClpC1 as a new strategy against drug-resistant mycobacteria

“…In general, mechanisms that govern AMR are similar to those that diminish the effectiveness of anti-cancer treatments. 6,7 Therefore, some of the strategies used to combat drug resistance in cancer may also be implementable in the context of AMR. One such strategy is targeted protein degradation (TPD), which has recently emerged as a promising modality for targeted anticancer therapeutics.…”