Recent advances in bacteriocin application as antimicrobials

Osnat Gillor, Lusine Ghazaryan

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

The dramatic rise in antibiotic-resistant pathogens has renewed efforts to identify, develop, and redesign antibiotics active against the resistant bacteria. This review will focus on the increasing number of patents aimed at employing the potential of antimicrobial polypeptides i.e., the bacteriocins, in vetrinary medicine and human health. Bacteriocins demonstrate enormous possibilities in treating and containing target bacteria and may be a part of novel approaches for replacing classical antibiotics at a time when many pathogens are no longer susceptible to the existing antibiotics. We will review the new knowledge-based approach to the exploitation of these bacterial produced toxins to treat human and animal infectious diseases as well as inhibit the proliferation of eukaryotic cells i.e., treating tumours. The ability to develop novel bacteriocin-based-drugs aimed at potential target cells, prokaryotic as well as eukaryotic, may open new possibilities for the design of improved antibiotics possessing refined characteristics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)115-122
Number of pages8
JournalRecent Patents on Anti-Infective Drug Discovery
Volume2
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2007

Keywords

  • Antibiotic resistance
  • Bacteriocin
  • Colicin
  • Enterocin
  • Gram
  • Lacticin
  • Lactocin
  • Lantibiotic
  • Microcin
  • Mutacin
  • Negative
  • Nisin
  • Pediocin
  • Positive
  • Salvaricin

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Drug Discovery
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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