Phosphoproteomics as an emerging weapon to develop new antibiotics against carbapenem resistant strain of Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii causes pneumonia, bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, respiratory infections and meningitis. A. baumannii has developed resistance against most of the antibiotics including carbapenem. Therefore, to battle carbapenem resistance, there is a need to develop antimicrobial drugs with new modes of action. Phosphoproteomics will help identify the differentially phosphorylated protein and its crucial phosphosites which facilitate the elucidation of molecular mechanism of signaling and regulation of carbapenem resistant strain of A. baumannii as compared to carbapenem sensitive strain. This understanding might be useful for the development of new antibiotics against kinases involved in the phosphorylation of identified phosphosites in carbapenem resistant strain of A. baumannii. The proposed antibiotics selectively inhibit carbapenem resistant strain which further avoids its excessive use against carbapenem sensitive strain and thereafter reduces emergence of resistance. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.