Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23785037›Full record

ArticleScience translational medicine2013

Silver enhances antibiotic activity against gram-negative bacteria.

J Ruben Morones-Ramirez, Jonathan A Winkler, Catherine S Spina, James J Collins

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science translational medicine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 257 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
257citing papers in PubMed
26.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

257 citing papers in PubMed, 749 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Virulence · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Characterization of Antibiotic-Tolerant Persister Cells inAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Effect of Ag and Cu additions on antibacterial performance of Fe-based amorphous alloys.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2026
    Article
  10. Article
  11. PFK-158 enhances colistin efficacy against resistantFrontiers in veterinary science · 2026
    Article
  12. HJournal of nanobiotechnology · 2025
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Green-synthesized magnetic core-shell NiFeBiochemistry and biophysics reports · 2025
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Review

197 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

J Ruben Morones-Ramirez *Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center of Synthetic Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Jonathan A Winkler *Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center of Synthetic Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Catherine S SpinaBoston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
James J CollinsHoward Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center of Synthetic Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Boston University · USHarvard University · USHoward Hughes Medical Institute · US

Funding

TUFTS--FIELDINGP30AG031679 · NIA · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI Ravi Jasuja · 2008 to 2026
$23.9M
Howard Hughes Medical InstituteNIA NIH HHS P30 AG031679
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A declining pipeline of clinically useful antibiotics has made it imperative to develop more effective antimicrobial therapies, particularly against difficult-to-treat Gram-negative pathogens. Silver has been used as an antimicrobial since antiquity, yet its mechanism of action remains unclear. We show that silver disrupts multiple bacterial cellular processes, including disulfide bond formation, metabolism, and iron homeostasis. These changes lead to increased production of reactive oxygen species and increased membrane permeability of Gram-negative bacteria that can potentiate the activity of a broad range of antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria in different metabolic states, as well as restore antibiotic susceptibility to a resistant bacterial strain. We show both in vitro and in a mouse model of urinary tract infection that the ability of silver to induce oxidative stress can be harnessed to potentiate antibiotic activity. Additionally, we demonstrate in vitro and in two different mouse models of peritonitis that silver sensitizes Gram-negative bacteria to the Gram-positive-specific antibiotic vancomycin, thereby expanding the antibacterial spectrum of this drug. Finally, we used silver and antibiotic combinations in vitro to eradicate bacterial persister cells, and show both in vitro and in a mouse biofilm infection model that silver can enhance antibacterial action against bacteria that produce biofilms. This work shows that silver can be used to enhance the action of existing antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria, thus strengthening the antibiotic arsenal for fighting bacterial infections.

Indexed as

AnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBiofilmsCell Membrane PermeabilityDisease Models, AnimalDisulfidesDrug SynergismGram-Negative BacteriaGram-Negative Bacterial InfectionsHumansHydroxyl RadicalIronMiceMicrobial Sensitivity TestsMicrobial ViabilitySilverAnti-Bacterial AgentsDisulfidesHydroxyl RadicalIronSilver

Identifiers

PMID23785037
PMCPMC3771099
OpenAlexW2145789959

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.