Deciphering the role of oxidative stress response in bactericidal antibiotic resistance

Abstract

In addition to acting on the primary targets, recent evidence indicates that bactericidal antibiotics such as kanamycin, norfloxacin, ampicillin have the ability to induce oxidative stress in bacterial cells, which in turn may increase the killing efficacy of the antibiotics. However, it remains to be understood if the oxidative stress response mechanisms in bacteria play any role in enhancing the resistance of bacterial cells towards the antibiotic. The oxidative stress response regulator, OxyR, plays a major role in overcoming the oxidative stress response in bacteria. Using a gain-of-function mutant of OxyR from Caulobacter crescentus, this work attempts to dissect the mechanism and role of OxyR during antibiotic-induced oxidative stress.