Recent developments of agents targeting Vibrio cholerae: patents and literature data.

Introduction: Vibrio cholerae bacteria cause an infection characterized by acute diarrheal illness in the intestine. Cholera is sustained by people swallowing contaminated food or water. Even though symptoms can be mild, if untreated disease becomes severe and life-threatening, especially in low-income countries.

Areas covered: After a description of the most recent literature on the pathophysiology of this infection, we searched for patents and literature articles following the PRISMA guidelines, filtering the results disclosed from 2020 to present. Moreover, some innovative molecular targets (e.g., carbonic anhydrases) and pathways to counteract this rising problem were also discussed in terms of design, structure-activity relationships and structural analyses.

Expert opinion: This review aims to cover and analyze the most recent advances on the new druggable targets and bioactive compounds against this fastidious pathogen, overcoming the use of old antibiotics which currently suffer from high resistance rate.