Table 1 Summary of some non-antibiotic inhibitors of bacterial growth and/or pathogenesis
From: Non-antibiotic treatments for bacterial diseases in an era of progressive antibiotic resistance
| Treatment strategy | Mechanism of action | Possible benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Hemoperfusion devices [3, 4] | Extracorporeal filters that clear blood pathogens by their physiochemical properties | Quickly reduce blood concentrations of selected bacteria by orders of magnitude |
| Quorum sensing inhibitors [5, 6] | Disrupt intercellular signaling between bacteria to block coordinated tissue invasion | Blocks sensing of necessary concentrations of bacteria for optimal synthesis of virulence and invasion genes |
| Lytic bacteriophage [7, 8] | Bacteriolysis induced by selected lytic phage or phage cocktails | Parasitic predators of bacteria that can be used as highly specific, targeted, bactericidal agents |
| Polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies [9–11]; immune adjuvants [12] | Improved bacterial vaccines, transgenic cattle for polyclonal immunotherapy; designer monoclonal antibodies; immune-stimulant therapy for sepsis induced immunosuppression | Active or passive immunotherapy to opsonize bacteria or inhibit exotoxins and virulence factors; adjuvants to stimulate cellular immune function |
| Liposome-based cyto-toxin inhibitors [13] | Engineered liposomes to serve as cell membrane decoys to absorb bacterial cyto-toxins | Capture pore-forming cyto-toxins and protect host cell membranes from cellular injury |
| Non-immune toleralizing approaches [14, 15] | Treatments allowing the host to survive and compensate for pathogen presence or until immune clearance removes the pathogen | Permits the host to tolerate the pathogen until cleared by immune or non-immune mechanisms (e.g., oral or intravenous fluids for cholera) |