Understanding metabolic resistance strategy of clinically isolated antibiotic-resistant bacteria by proteomic approach.

Introduction: Understanding the metabolic regulatory mechanisms leading to antibacterial resistance is important to develop effective control measures.

Areas covered: In this review, we summarize the progress on metabolic mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in clinically isolated bacteria, as revealed using proteomic approaches.

Expert opinion: Proteomic approaches are effective tools for uncovering clinically significant bacterial metabolic responses to antibiotics. Proteomics can disclose the associations between metabolic proteins, pathways, and networks with antibiotic resistance, and help identify their functional impact. The mechanisms by which metabolic proteins control the four generally recognized resistance mechanisms (decreased influx and targets, and increased efflux and enzymatic degradation) are particularly important. The proposed mechanism of reprogramming proteomics via key metabolites to enhance the killing efficiency of existing antibiotics needs attention.