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Thwarting Antibiotic Resistance by Concealing the Host
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Jeffrey W. Brown, M.D., Ph.D
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University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
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Internal Medicine Residency Program, UPMC Montefiore Hospital, N-715, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
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brownjw4@upmc.edu
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All currently available antibiotics target bacterial proteins and, as a result, are subject to resistance through the sampling of genetic space and progressive accumulation of mutations in pre-existing proteins by these rapidly reproducing pathogens. In this prospective, I present the potential benefits that may be derived from designing drugs that bind host proteins concealing them from bacterial virulence factors. In addition to circumventing the inevitable resistance that will ensue from any antibiotic that targets bacterial proteins, these drugs are much less likely to disrupt the host microbiome and thus may avoid the repercussions of broad spectrum antibiotics like C. difficile colitis.
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