AUTHOR=Qian Yizheng , Zhou Dapeng , Li Min , Zhao Yongxiang , Liu Huanhuan , Yang Li , Ying Zhiqin , Huang Guangtao 

TITLE=Application of CRISPR-Cas system in the diagnosis and therapy of ESKAPE infections

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1223696

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1223696

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>Antimicrobial-resistant ESKAPE (<italic>Enterococcus faecium</italic>, <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic>, <italic>Klebsiella pneumoniae</italic>, <italic>Acinetobacter baumannii</italic>, <italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</italic>, and <italic>Enterobacter</italic> species) pathogens represent a global threat to human health. ESKAPE pathogens are the most common opportunistic pathogens in nosocomial infections, and a considerable number of their clinical isolates are not susceptible to conventional antimicrobial therapy. Therefore, innovative therapeutic strategies that can effectively deal with ESKAPE pathogens will bring huge social and economic benefits and ease the suffering of tens of thousands of patients. Among these strategies, CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) system has received extra attention due to its high specificity. Regrettably, there is currently no direct CRISPR-system-based anti-infective treatment. This paper reviews the applications of CRISPR-Cas system in the study of ESKAPE pathogens, aiming to provide directions for the research of ideal new drugs and provide a reference for solving a series of problems caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDR) in the post-antibiotic era. However, most research is still far from clinical application.</p>