Antibacterial activity of nonantibiotics is orthogonal to standard antibiotics. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38484036/)

These scientists wanted to understand why some nonantibiotic drugs can act like antibiotics and harm the good bacteria in our bodies. They tested 200 different drugs to see if they could kill a type of bacteria called Escherichia coli. They used a special method to see which genes in the bacteria were affected by each drug. By looking at these interactions, they found that antibiotics grouped together based on how they work, but nonantibiotics did not. They also discovered that some nonantibiotics share targets with antibiotics, which could help in creating new medicines to fight bacteria. They also found that certain systems in the bacteria can help the drugs leave the cells, affecting both antibiotics and nonantibiotics. This study helps us understand how different drugs can affect bacteria and how we can develop new treatments to fight infections.

Guillen MN., Li C., Rosener B., Mitchell A. Antibacterial activity of nonantibiotics is orthogonal to standard antibiotics. Science. 2024 Mar 14:eadk7368. doi: 10.1126/science.adk7368.