Capsule modulation enhances immunity and delays resistance in MDR Acinetobacter baumannii
Fangfang Shen, Yuanfei Wang, Qiong Wu, Minglong Yang, Biquan Chen, Pengfei Wu, Ying Ye · 2026
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Description
Fangfang Shen, Yuanfei Wang, and their co-authors show how a virus that kills bacteria can force a dangerous germ into a weaker form. Their 2026 study concerns Acinetobacter baumannii, a hospital pathogen that is resistant to drugs. Bacteriophages attack it with great precision, but the germ soon evolves resistance, which cuts how long phage therapy lasts.
The team found a phage in hospital waste water and bred bacterial offspring that resisted it, along with phages bred to match them. Resistance came with a thinner capsule, the sugar coat that shields the germ, plus less virulence and a form immune cells could spot more easily. Adapted phages regained killing power, and with antibiotics they held back resistant growth and helped sick mice live. The trade off exposes a weakness that treatment can exploit.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Fangfang Shen, Yuanfei Wang, Qiong Wu, Minglong Yang, Biquan Chen, Pengfei Wu, Ying Ye |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 71 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |