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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Carbapenem antibiotics are the most effective antimicrobials for the treatment of infections caused by the most resistant bacteria. They belong to the category of β-lactams that include the penicillins, cephalosporins, monobactams and carbapenems. This class of antimicrobials has a broader spectrum of activity than most other beta-lactams antibiotics and are the most effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. All β-lactams antibiotics have a similar molecular structure: the carbapenems together with the β-lactams. This combination gives an extraordinary stability to the molecule against the enzymes inactivating the β-lactams. They are safe to use and therefore widespread use in many countries has given rise to carbapenem resistance which is a major global public health problem. The carbapenem resistance in some species is intrinsic and consists of the capacity to resist the action of antibiotics with several mechanisms: for the absence of a specific target, or an intrinsic difference in the composition of cytoplasmatic membrane or the inability to cross the outer membrane. In addition to intrinsic resistance, bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics with several mechanisms that can be gathered in three main groups. The first group includes antibiotics with poor penetration into the outer membrane of bacterium or antibiotic efflux. The second includes bacteria that modify the target of the antibiotics through genetic mutations or post-translational modification of the target. The third includes bacteria that act with enzyme-catalyzed modification and this is due to the production of beta-lactamases, that are able to inactivate carbapenems and so called carbapenemases. In this review, we focus on the mode of action of carbapenem and the mechanisms of carbapenem resistance.

Details

Title
Mechanisms of Action of Carbapenem Resistance
Author
Aurilio, Caterina 1 ; Sansone, Pasquale 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Barbarisi, Manlio 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pota, Vincenzo 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Luca Gregorio Giaccari 1 ; Coppolino, Francesco 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Barbarisi, Alfonso 3 ; Passavanti, Maria Beatrice 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pace, Maria Caterina 1 

 Department of Women, Child, General and Specialistic Surgery, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; [email protected] (P.S.); [email protected] (V.P.); [email protected] (L.G.G.); [email protected] (F.C.); [email protected] (M.B.P.); [email protected] (M.C.P.) 
 Department of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic and Aging Sciences, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; [email protected] 
 “Pegaso” Telematic University, 80143 Naples, Italy; [email protected] 
First page
421
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20796382
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2642336544
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.