Non-antibiotic prevention and treatment against Acinetobacter baumannii infection: Are vaccines and adjuvants effective strategies?

Front Microbiol. 2023 Jan 25:14:1049917. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1049917. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen widely attached to the surface of medical instruments, making it one of the most common pathogens of nosocomial infection, and often leading to cross-infection and co-infection. Due to the extensive antibiotic and pan-resistance, A. baumannii infection is facing fewer treatment options in the clinic. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of A. baumannii infection have become a tricky global problem. The requirement for research and development of the new strategy is urgent. Now, non-antibiotic treatment strategies are urgently needed. This review describes the research on A. baumannii vaccines and antibacterial adjuvants, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different candidate vaccines tested in vitro and in vivo, especially subunit protein vaccines, and shows the antibacterial efficacy of adjuvant drugs in monotherapy.

Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii; DNA vaccine; OMV; adjuvant drugs; recombinant protein subunit vaccine; whole-cell vaccine.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers: 82060654 and 32170119), The Science and Technology Foundation of Shaanxi Province (2021JM-416), Open Project Foundation of Key Laboratory of non-coding RNA and drugs in Universities of Sichuan Province (FB19-01 and FB20-02), Open Project Shaanxi Engineering and Technological Research Center for Conversation and Utilization of Regional Biological Resources (sxgczx-2019-02), Initial Scientific Research Fund of Yan'an University (YDBK201850), and Research Program of Yan'an University (YDZ2019-09 and YDZ2020-17).