A Solution from University of Geneva to Combat Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing global health challenges: in 2019, this phenomenon caused nearly 5 million deaths. A research consortium has tackled the potentially deadly bacteria Enterococcus faecalismost strains of which are resistant to common antibiotics.

It is a very common bacterium, causing many infections. However, the most common strains are resistant to the antibiotic called vancomycin. They are called ERVs (Enterococcus faecalis vancomycin resistant). They have therefore become all the more dangerous as there are no longer really effective drugs to combat them. In hospitals, this bacterium causes infections of the urinary tract, blood and wounds due to the installation of catheters or surgical interventions.

“Faced with the increase in problematic cases, it is becoming urgent to propose innovative approaches”, underlines Kimberly Kline, professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine of the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine and principal investigator at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), who co-directed this work. “Antibiotics aim to kill bacteria which, in order to defend themselves, develop resistance. In order to circumvent this mechanism, we wanted to examine other control strategies, for example strengthening the immune system of patients so that it can better fight against bacterial infections.

Mitoxantrone is a drug used in the treatment of certain cancers (acute leukaemia, prostate and breast cancer) as well as multiple sclerosis. The research team tested its effectiveness against VRE, alone or in combination with vancomycin. “The powerful combination of mitoxantrone and vancomycin that we have developed has proven to be very effective in inhibiting the growth of VRE”, details Jianzhu Chen, co-author of the article published in «Science Advances», principal investigator at SMART and professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “Additionally, it also has the ability to boost the host’s immune system and improve wound healing by recruiting more immune cells to infection sites and making them more able to kill bacteria. »

“The discovery of mitoxantrone as both a bacterial and host-targeted therapy against VRE represents a major advance in the fight against these infections,” adds Ronni da Silva, first author of the paper and postdoctoral researcher at SMART. .

Scientists are currently pursuing preclinical studies in preparation for a clinical trial aimed specifically at developing local treatments for chronic wound infections in people with diabetes. “Our research provides a solid foundation for exploring the potential impact of using mitoxantrone in the treatment of bacterial infections. By exploring a whole range of applications, we aim to provide entirely new therapeutic strategies to combat resistant pathogens”, concludes Kimberly Kline.