anti-infective therapeutics / AiCuris, Ligand, Veloxis, Asahi Kasei Therapeutics - LARVOL DELTA

β-Hydroxybutyric acid impairs host antimicrobial defense by targeting the CEACAM1-NADPH-ROS axis to disrupt macrophage bactericidal activity. (PubMed, Biochem Pharmacol) - "In conclusion, we identify BHBA as an endogenous negative pharmacological ligand that directly targets CEACAM1 as a macrophage druggable receptor, thereby disrupting the NADPH-ROS bactericidal axis. This BHBA-CEACAM1-NADPH-ROS pharmacological cascade impairs host antimicrobial defense, providing a biochemically tractable target for the development of novel anti‑infective therapies."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Metabolic Disorders • CEACAM1 • CEACAM5 • CRP

The Parkinson's Disease Drug Tolcapone and Analogues are Potent Glycomimetic Lectin Inhibitors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa LecA. (PubMed, Angew Chem Int Ed Engl) - "Motivated by the pressing need for new anti-infective therapies caused by antimicrobial resistance, inhibitors of LecA are under investigation. This work paves the way for a new avenue of research towards innovative anti-infective drugs. In a more general perspective, such small molecules also hold potential to challenge the hegemony of antibodies for lectin inhibition in clinical use."

Journal • CNS Disorders • Movement Disorders • Parkinson's Disease

Inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum Sensing-Regulated Behaviors by Mushroom Extracts. (PubMed, J Ethnopharmacol) - "The tested mushrooms are promising sources of safe, natural antibiofilm and antivirulence agents, justifying their traditional use in infection control and offering potential for novel anti-infective therapies."

Journal • Infectious Disease

Pam2ODN Enhances Rela and cJun Binding at H3k27ac Accessible Sites in Lung Epithelium to Prevent Respiratory Infections (ATS 2025) - "This abstract is funded by: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [R35 HL144805] Rationale: Respiratory tract infections are a major cause of worldwide morbidity, and increased antimicrobial resistance requires development of novel anti-infective therapeutics... Pam2ODN enhances genomic binding of Rela and cJun to H3K27ac sites in human and mouse epithelium. RelA/cJun genomic binding correlates with epithelial gene expression changes suggesting a highly cooperative transcriptional signaling mechanism with Pam2ODN. Host-directed modulation of lung epithelial immune responses with Pam2-ODN can be beneficial against known and emerging pathogens, especially in immunocompromised patients."

Infectious Disease • Respiratory Diseases • CD31 • PECAM1 • PTPRC

Silver(I) complexes containing bioactive salicylic acid derivatives: Synthesis, characterization, antibacterial activity, and their underlying mechanism. (PubMed, J Inorg Biochem) - "Recognizing that silver-metallodrugs are a potential source of novel anti-infective therapeutic agents, this work adopts the complexation of biologically active salicylic acid derivatives with inherently antibacterial silver(I) ions as a strategy for developing new antibacterial agents...Mechanism studies have shown that cell wall perforation and imbalance of intracellular ROS levels may be possible reasons for silver(I) complexes induced bacterial cell death. The biofilm removal experiment further proves the potential use of silver(I) complexes 1-3 in the treatment of bacterial infections."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Oncology

A Specialized Polythioamide-Binding Protein Confers Antibiotic Self-Resistance in Anaerobic Bacteria. (PubMed, Angew Chem Int Ed Engl) - "Understanding antibiotic resistance mechanisms is central to the development of anti-infective therapies and genomics-based drug discovery...By genome mining using CtaZ as a handle, we discovered previously overlooked homologs encoded by diverse members of the phylum Firmicutes, including many pathogens. In addition to characterizing both a new role for a GyrI-like domain in self-resistance and unprecedented thioamide binding, this work aids in uncovering related drug-resistance mechanisms."

Journal • Infectious Disease

Medicinal chemistry of the myeloid C-type lectin receptors Mincle, Langerin, and DC-SIGN. (PubMed, RSC Med Chem) - "As such, this family of receptors represents an appealing target for therapeutic interventions for modulating the outcome of many pathological processes, in particular related to infectious diseases. This review summarizes the current state of research into glycomimetic or drug-like small molecule ligands for the CLRs Mincle, Langerin, and DC-SIGN, which have potential therapeutic applications in vaccine research and anti-infective therapy."

Journal • Review • Infectious Disease • Oncology

Platelet membrane-camouflaged silver metal-organic framework drug system against infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. (PubMed, J Nanobiotechnology) - "PLT@Ag-MOF-Vanc is a novel effective targeted drug delivery system, which is expected to be used safely in anti-infective therapy of MRSA."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Pneumonia • Respiratory Diseases

The biophysics of bacterial infections: Adhesion events in the light of force spectroscopy. (PubMed, Cell Surf) - "As we approach the end of the antibiotic era, acquisition of a deeper knowledge of the fundamental forces involved in bacteria - host cells/(bio)materials surface adhesion is crucial for the identification of new ligand-binding events and its assessment as novel targets for alternative anti-infective therapies. This article aims to highlight the potential of AFM-based force spectroscopy for new targeted therapies development against bacterial infections in which adhesion plays a pivotal role and does not aim to be an extensive overview on the AFM technical capabilities and theory of single molecule force spectroscopy."

Journal • Infectious Disease

In silico Screening of Flavones and its Derivatives as Potential Inhibitors of Quorum-Sensing Regulator LasR of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PubMed, Mol Biol (Mosk)) - "Selected compounds meet the criteria necessary for their consideration as drugs and can serve as a basis for conducting further in vitro/in vivo experiments. It could be used for the development of modern anti-infective therapy based on the quorum sensing system of P. aeruginosa."

Journal