Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38421944›Full record

ArticlePLoS pathogens2024

Intoxication of antibiotic persisters by host RNS inactivates their efflux machinery during infection.

Séverin Ronneau, Charlotte Michaux, Rachel T Giorgio, Sophie Helaine

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS pathogens, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 18% 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

11 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Microorganisms · 2026
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Molecular Basis of Persister Awakening and Lag-Phase Recovery inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Antibiotic-recalcitrant Salmonella during infection.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2025
    Review
  11. Review
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 1 institution in 1 country.

Séverin RonneauDepartment of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Charlotte MichauxDepartment of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Rachel T GiorgioDepartment of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Sophie HelaineDepartment of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-9877-4180
Harvard University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The host environment is of critical importance for antibiotic efficacy. By impacting bacterial machineries, stresses encountered by pathogens during infection promote the formation of phenotypic variants that are transiently insensitive to the action of antibiotics. It is assumed that these recalcitrant bacteria-termed persisters-contribute to antibiotic treatment failure and relapsing infections. Recently, we demonstrated that host reactive nitrogen species (RNS) transiently protect persisters against the action of β-lactam antibiotics by delaying their regrowth within host cells. Here, we discovered that RNS intoxication of persisters also collaterally sensitizing them to fluoroquinolones during infection, explaining the higher efficiency of fluoroquinolones against intramacrophage Salmonella. By reducing bacterial respiration and the proton-motive force, RNS inactivate the AcrAB efflux machinery of persisters, facilitating the accumulation of fluoroquinolones intracellularly. Our work shows that target inactivity is not the sole reason for Salmonella persisters to withstand antibiotics during infection, with active efflux being a major contributor to survival. Thus, understanding how the host environment impacts persister physiology is critical to optimize antibiotics efficacy during infection.

Indexed as

Abnormalities, MultipleAnti-Bacterial AgentsCleft PalateExophthalmosFluoroquinolonesMicrocephalyOsteosclerosisBiological TransportMonobactamsProton-Motive ForceAnti-Bacterial AgentsFluoroquinolonesMonobactams

Identifiers

PMID38421944
PMCPMC10903880
OpenAlexW4392298436

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.