Infection and Immunity · 2 authors, 2 centres
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This narrative review describes how Acinetobacter baumannii uses various metabolic strategies to acquire nutrients from the host during infection, which can also confer resistance to antibiotics and antimicrobial agents. The authors argue that targeting these metabolic pathways could offer new therapeutic strategies against drug-resistant infections.
This narrative review synthesizes mechanistic, animal model, and in vitro studies on the metabolism of Acinetobacter baumannii during infection and its role in antimicrobial resistance. Central findings include that A. baumannii utilizes diverse carbon sources, including amino acids and amines, from the host, and its nutrient acquisition pathways, such as iron acquisition via cefiderocol and the pentose phosphate pathway, are linked to antibiotic tolerance. The review discusses metabolic strategies for persistence in infection models like G. mellonella and macrophages. Limitations include that many mechanistic studies use older clinical isolates and that questions remain about metabolism in asymptomatic colonization and intracellular growth. The implications suggest that targeting essential nutrient acquisition pathways could be a novel therapeutic strategy against both hospital- and community-acquired strains.
