Drug resistance represents one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide. The evolutionary processes leading to drug resistance are incompletely known due to the multitude of systems in which they develop (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, insects, tumor cells, etc.) as well as the driving forces and multiple mechanisms involved in drug resistance.
With more than 25 000 deaths every year from infections caused by multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, 1 500 million euro annual costs only in the European Union (EU) and an estimated number of 10 million deaths by 2050, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a global health priority issue as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to AMR, tumor resistance represents an even more threatful issue being responsible for over 90% of cancer deaths. In approximately 50% of the cases, drug resistance exists even before chemotherapy is initiated.
This special issue aims to present the current progress and perspectives regarding drug resistance occurring in different biological systems, from viruses and microorganisms to humans, hoping to provide a worthwhile platform for the future development of new strategies to combat drug resistance.
This Research Topic welcomes contributions in the form of Original Research, Review, and Mini-Review papers that focus on, but are not limited to, the following issues:
• Genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of resistance (eg, DNA damage, cell death inhibition, etc).
• Biochemical resistance mechanisms (eg, drug inactivation, drug target alteration, drug efflux, etc).
• Clinical and non-clinical resistance reservoirs (impact of MDR in clinic vs natural environments (water, soil);
• Patterns in drug resistance dissemination (OneHealth approach);
• Common themes in AMR and cancer drug resistance: analogies between the antimicrobial and anticancer drug resistance mechanisms;
• Selection factors for drug resistance;
• New targets and strategies to combat drug resistance.
Drug resistance represents one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide. The evolutionary processes leading to drug resistance are incompletely known due to the multitude of systems in which they develop (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, insects, tumor cells, etc.) as well as the driving forces and multiple mechanisms involved in drug resistance.
With more than 25 000 deaths every year from infections caused by multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, 1 500 million euro annual costs only in the European Union (EU) and an estimated number of 10 million deaths by 2050, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a global health priority issue as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to AMR, tumor resistance represents an even more threatful issue being responsible for over 90% of cancer deaths. In approximately 50% of the cases, drug resistance exists even before chemotherapy is initiated.
This special issue aims to present the current progress and perspectives regarding drug resistance occurring in different biological systems, from viruses and microorganisms to humans, hoping to provide a worthwhile platform for the future development of new strategies to combat drug resistance.
This Research Topic welcomes contributions in the form of Original Research, Review, and Mini-Review papers that focus on, but are not limited to, the following issues:
• Genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of resistance (eg, DNA damage, cell death inhibition, etc).
• Biochemical resistance mechanisms (eg, drug inactivation, drug target alteration, drug efflux, etc).
• Clinical and non-clinical resistance reservoirs (impact of MDR in clinic vs natural environments (water, soil);
• Patterns in drug resistance dissemination (OneHealth approach);
• Common themes in AMR and cancer drug resistance: analogies between the antimicrobial and anticancer drug resistance mechanisms;
• Selection factors for drug resistance;
• New targets and strategies to combat drug resistance.
