Made to stick: Anti-adhesion therapy for bacterial infections

Multidrug-resistant strains of pathogens necessitate development of alternative means to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Bacterial adherence to host tissues is a universally required early step for establishing infections and, thus, targeting this process holds promise as an alternative approach to conventional antibiotics for treating bacterial infections. Because anti-adhesive compounds clear rather than kill bacteria, there is no selective pressure on the pathogen to develop resistance to this process, reducing the likelihood that a dominantly resistant population will develop. Although several compounds show promise, the wider use of anti-adhesion therapy will depend on the discovery of new anti-adhesion drug targets and on compounds with better affinity, stability, and bioavailability.