Nakonieczna A, Abramowicz K, Kwiatek M, Kowalczyk E. Lysins as a powerful alternative to combat Bacillus anthracis.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2024;
108:366. [PMID:
38850320 PMCID:
PMC11162388 DOI:
10.1007/s00253-024-13194-3]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
This review gathers all, to the best of our current knowledge, known lysins, mainly bacteriophage-derived, that have demonstrated activity against Bacillus anthracis strains. B. anthracis is a spore-forming, toxin-producing bacteria, naturally dwelling in soil. It is best known as a potential biowarfare threat, an etiological agent of anthrax, and a severe zoonotic disease. Anthrax can be treated with antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, penicillin, doxycycline); however, their administration may take up even to 60 days, and different factors can compromise their effectiveness. Bacterial viruses, bacteriophages (phages), are natural enemies of bacteria and use their lytic enzymes, endolysins (lysins), to specifically kill bacterial cells. Harnessing the potential of lysins to combat bacterial infections holds promise for diminishing antibiotic usage and, consequently, addressing the escalating antibiotic resistance in bacteria. In this context, we list the lysins with the activity against B. anthracis, providing a summary of their lytic properties in vitro and the outcomes observed in animal models. Bacillus cereus strain ATCC 4342/RSVF1, a surrogate for B. anthracis, was also included as a target bacteria. KEY POINTS: • More than a dozen different B. anthracis lysins have been identified and studied. • They fall into three blocks regarding their amino acid sequence similarity and most of them are amidases. • Lysins could be used in treating B. anthracis infections.
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