Researchers develop novel combination therapy for treating vancomycin-resistant bacteria (Mitoxantrone & vancomycin)

Medical Xpress / Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology / Science Advances ^ | March 7, 2023 | Ronni A. G. da Silva et al

[ConservativeMind]

Researchers have developed a novel combination therapy using an anticancer agent, mitoxantrone (MTX), together with an antibiotic, vancomycin, for treating bacteria that are resistant to the vancomycin, which is also known as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE). The therapy uniquely targets both VRE and the host, stimulating the host immune system to more effectively clear bacterial infections and accelerate infected wound healing.

VRE is a "hard-to-kill" bacteria due to its increasing antibiotic resistance and can cause serious infections, including urinary tract, bloodstream, and wound infections associated with catheters or surgical procedures. The treatment of VRE infections has posed a significant challenge as the bacteria exhibit resistance to vancomycin—an antibiotic commonly used to treat endocarditis, skin, stomach and intestine infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria—and other commonly used antibiotics.

The team tested MTX's effectiveness and antibiotic activity against VRE, both in vitro and in vivo. Despite VRE's resistance to vancomycin, MTX was found to inhibit the growth of VRE more effectively when used in the presence of vancomycin. This outcome is due to the synergistic relationship between MTX and vancomycin, which makes VRE more sensitive to vancomycin by lowering the vancomycin concentration required to kill VRE. The research also demonstrated that MTX improved wound healing by enhancing the ability of macrophages—a type of white blood cell that kills microorganisms, removes dead cells, and stimulates the action of other immune cells—to fight off VRE infections and by recruiting more immune cells to the site of infection.

"We discovered the potent combination between MTX and vancomycin, which is highly effective in inhibiting the growth of VRE. Furthermore, it also possesses the ability to enhance the host immune system and improve wound healing,," said Dr. Jianzhu Chen.

[ConservativeMind]

Doctors need to hear about this quickly, as many people suffer and die from the inability to treat VRE.

[ConservativeMind]

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