Enterococcus, Salmonella y H2S control remoto de la resistencia a antibióticos

Abstract

Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are among the most significanthospital pathogens globally, producing life threatening endocarditis, urinary tractinfections and septicemia. This is due, among other reasons, to their high-level ofresilience to adverse environmental conditions, and to their resistance to a widerange of antibiotics.Of all the antimicrobial resistance mechanisms harbored by enterococci, theirintrinsic resistance to cephalosporins (an invaluable group of antibiotics within β-lactams family) is the most troubling from a clinical perspective, as it leads to asubstantial reduction of the treatment options available for fighting enterococcalinfections.In this Thesis, we have discovered a phenomenon that abolishes Enterococcusresistance, making them susceptible to cephalosporin activity. This sensitizationoccurs when enterococi are exposed to the gas hydrogen sulfide (H2S). This gas,which has been considered a mere cell by-product for centuries, is now recognizedas a highly relevant gasotransmitter, involved in various physiological andpathological processes, both in Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes...