Ibuprofen prevents the conjugative transfer of plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance genes
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: • Ibuprofen inhibits plasmid conjugation, blocking antimicrobial resistance gene spread. • Ibuprofen can block conjugative transfer in the same species or across genera under different conjugation conditions. • Ibuprofen suppresses the type IV secretion system and ATP synthesis to inhibit the conjugative transfer of bacteria. Refractory infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria pose a significant threat to public health. Here we report that ibuprofen inhibits conjugation of the RP4 plasmid and plasmids from clinical strains carrying different resistance genes including mcr-1, bla NDM , bla KPC , tet (X4), and tmexCD1 - toprJ1 . Mechanistic studies suggest that ibuprofen reduces ATP production and inhibits conjugation-related genes. The inhibitory effect of ibuprofen on conjugation has significant clinical implications for preventing the spread of multidrug resistance, opening new therapeutic avenues to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Authors: Guangfen Zhang, Chunli Li, Xiaofan Li, Yuanyuan Li, Yunbing Li, Xiangkun Zeng, Chen Xu, Shuyan Wu, Ning Dong
Institutions: Soochow University, Zhejiang University, Jiangsu University
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Medicine
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,890
OpenAlex ID: W4407087826