Antivirulence compounds: a future direction to overcome antibiotic resistance?

The antimicrobial resistance issue The evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognized as a major threat to global health and to healthcare systems, being the cause for almost 700,000 deaths annually, with an estimated cost for the global economy of US$100 trillion by 2050 (1,2). [...]despite the efforts to increase global awareness and to encourage best practices, AMR continues to emerge and spread quickly, sometimes only a few years after the introduction of a new drug in clinical practice (3). [...]since the majority of virulence factors are usually restricted to few closely related species, the possibility of transmission of resistance determinants through horizontal gene transfer would also be reduced. [...]the expression of virulence factors can be different depending on the site of the infection. [...]due to the complex biological variety of the virulence factors, as well as their usually narrow spectrum of activity, the translation of preclinical discovery into clinical practice could be really challenging. [...]as antivirulence compounds may be effective when used as adjunct therapy in combination with antibiotics, possible drug interactions or impacts on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles must be taken into consideration.