Exogenous hydrogen sulphide sensitizes carbapenemase-producing Acinetobacter baumannii to gentamicin

Objective: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii pose a major public health threat. These bacteria often display broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance, rendering them resistant to nearly all classes of antibiotics. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), a compound naturally produced by many bacterial specie...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nicolas Helsens, Jacqueline Findlay, Maxime Bouvier, Patrice Nordmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213716525000888
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Summary:Objective: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii pose a major public health threat. These bacteria often display broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance, rendering them resistant to nearly all classes of antibiotics. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), a compound naturally produced by many bacterial species, has been proposed to exert a protective effect against certain antibiotics. However, A. baumannii does not produced H2S. Methods: To investigate the effect of exogenous H2S on antibiotic resistance, several clinical isolates of carbapenemase-producing A. baumannii were cultured under various conditions, including the presence or absence of H2S and/or sub-inhibitory concentrations of gentamicin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and meropenem. Bacterial growth was assessed at multiple time points to evaluate growth dynamics. Results: Exogenous H2S alone had a limited impact on bacterial growth. However, its addition reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration of gentamicin and sensitized the bacteria to sub-inhibitory concentrations of this antibiotic. Conclusions: This study highlights the potential of H2S as an antibiotic potentiator, suggesting that the use of this combination may be a promising strategy for treating pulmonary infections caused by A. baumannii or for preventing colonization on medical devices such as catheters.
ISSN:2213-7165