AUTHOR=She Pengfei , Wang Yangxia , Li Yingjia , Zhou Linying , Li Shijia , Zeng Xianghai , Liu Yaqian , Xu Lanlan , Wu Yong 

TITLE=Drug Repurposing: In vitro and in vivo Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Effects of Bithionol Against Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.579806

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.579806

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Widespread antibiotic resistance has been reported in enterococcal pathogens that cause life-threatening infections. Enterococci species rapidly acquire resistance and the pace of new antibiotic development is slow. Drug repurposing is a promising approach in solving this problem. Bithionol (BT) is a clinically approved anthelminthic drug. In this study, we found that BT showed significant antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects against <italic>Enterococcus faecalis</italic> and vancomycin-resistant <italic>Entercococcus faecium in vitro</italic>, in a dose-dependent manner, by disrupting the integrity of the bacterial cell membranes. Moreover, BT effectively reduced the bacterial load in mouse organs when combined with conventional antibiotics in a peritonitis infection model. Thus, BT has shown potential as a therapeutic agent against <italic>E. faecalis</italic>- and vancomycin-resistant <italic>E. faecium</italic>-related infections.</p>