Persistence Switch Involved in Persister Formation and Tolerance to Multiple Antibiotics and Stresses, as a Drug Target for Persister Bacteria

Persister bacteria are metabolically quiescent cells that neither grow nor die in the presence of antibiotics. The biological mechanism of bacterial persistence is not fully understood but it is clear that they reduce antibiotic efficacy, which leads to millions of infectious disease deaths each year. Recently, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University discovered a gene that appears to be involved in persistence formation in E. coli. An E. coli mutant for the persister gene demonstrated high susceptibility to multiple stressors in the stationary growth phase including a wide range of antibiotics that are generally not effective against persisters. Following a genome wide expression analysis of the mutant strain, the researchers have determined the persister gene to be a global regulator of a number of important processes involved in persister formation. Description (Set) Proposed Use (Set) The persister gene is an ideal target for designing new compounds that kill non-replicating persister bacteria. These drugs will increase the efficacy of already existing treatment regimes and may lead to a shortening of treatment times for especially persistent bacterial infections such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogens, and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Inventor(s): Zhang, Ying

Type of Offer: Licensing



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