Endolysin, a Promising Solution against Antimicrobial Resistance
Mujeeb ur Rahman,
Weixiao Wang,
Qingqing Sun,
Junaid Ali Shah,
Chao Li,
Yanmei Sun,
Yuanrui Li,
Bailing Zhang,
Wei Chen,
Shiwei Wang
Affiliations
Mujeeb ur Rahman
Key Laboratory of Resources Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Weixiao Wang
Clinical Research Center, The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210003, China
Qingqing Sun
Key Laboratory of Resources Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Junaid Ali Shah
College of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
Chao Li
Key Laboratory of Resources Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Yanmei Sun
Key Laboratory of Resources Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Yuanrui Li
Key Laboratory of Resources Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Bailing Zhang
Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China
Wei Chen
Clinical Research Center, The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210003, China
Shiwei Wang
Key Laboratory of Resources Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global crisis for human public health which threatens the effective prevention and control of ever-increasing infectious diseases. The advent of pandrug-resistant bacteria makes most, if not all, available antibiotics invalid. Meanwhile, the pipeline of novel antibiotics development stagnates, which prompts scientists and pharmacists to develop unconventional antimicrobials. Bacteriophage-derived endolysins are cell wall hydrolases which could hydrolyze the peptidoglycan layer from within and outside of bacterial pathogens. With high specificity, rapid action, high efficiency, and low risk of resistance development, endolysins are believed to be among the best alternative therapeutic agents to treat multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria. As of now, endolysins have been applied to diverse aspects. In this review, we comprehensively introduce the structures and activities of endolysins and summarize the latest application progress of recombinant endolysins in the fields of medical treatment, pathogen diagnosis, food safety, and agriculture.
