The potential impact of coinfection on antimicrobial chemotherapy and drug resistance.

Abstract

Across a range of pathogens, resistance to chemotherapy is a growing problem in both public health and animal health. Despite the ubiquity of coinfection, and its potential effects on within-host biology, the role played by coinfecting pathogens on the evolution of resistance and efficacy of antimicrobial chemotherapy is rarely considered. In this review, we provide an overview of the mechanisms of interaction of coinfecting pathogens, ranging from immune modulation and resource modulation, to drug interactions. We discuss their potential implications for the evolution of resistance, providing evidence in the rare cases where it is available. Overall, our review indicates that the impact of coinfection has the potential to be considerable, suggesting that this should be taken into account when designing antimicrobial drug treatments.

• Authors: Ruthie B Birger, Roger D Kouyos, Ted Cohen, Emily C Griffiths, Silvie Huijben, Michael J Mina, Victoriya Volkova, Bryan Grenfell, C Jessica E Metcalf
• Journal: Trends in microbiology (Trends Microbiol) Vol. 23 Issue 9 Pg. 537-544 (Sep 2015) ISSN: 1878-4380 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 26028590 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Immunologic Factors

Topics

• Animals
• Coinfection (drug therapy, immunology, microbiology, parasitology)
• Drug Resistance, Microbial (genetics)
• Host-Pathogen Interactions
• Humans
• Immunologic Factors (physiology)
• Microbial Interactions
• Models, Biological