Study identifies colistin resistance drug target

A Chinese study led by scientists at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou City has identified a linker of resistance from the mobile colistin resistance gene 3 (MCR-3), which might represent a promising drug target against which to develop small-molecule inhibitors to reverse colistin resistance.

“We are first group to functionally define this linker as a facilitator of MCR-3 colistin resistance,” said study co-leader Youjun Feng, a professor in Department of Pathogen Biology & Microbiology at Zhejiang University School of Medicine.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents an increasingly serious threat to global public health. Of particular concern is the rapid rise of resistance to colistin, or polymyxin E, the antibiotic of last resort against Gram-negative bacteria, including pneumonia.

“AMR is a major problem in many countries including China. New drug targets are lacking, which might be in part responsible for the poor availability of new antibiotics,” said Feng, who co-led the study with Tingjun Hou, a professor in the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Zhejiang University.