ENOblock synergizes with colistin to treat Acinetobacter baumannii infections
High-throughput screening studies provide an additional approach to discovering repurposed drugs for antimicrobial treatments. In this work, we report the identification of ENOblock, an anticancer drug, as an antimicrobial agent. We computationally and experimentally validated that ENOblock synergizes with colistin, the last resort antibiotic. Additionally, we identified enolase as the potential bacterial target for ENOblock. The in silico and in vitro antibacterial activity of ENOblock translated into potent in vivo efficacy in an animal infection model. Collectively, the preclinical data support the selection of ENOblock as a promising candidate for antimicrobial development, with the potential to address the urgent threat of infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii.
Authors
- Aklani-Rose G.D. HIDALGO (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4027-2113)
- Younes Smani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9302-8384)
- Pilar Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6034-1857)
- Thanadon Samernate
- Milan Senćanski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7296-3223)
- Antonio J. Pérez‐Pulido (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3343-2822)
- Olga Genilloud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4202-1219)
- Sanja Glišić (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5691-1055)
- Irene Molina Panadero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8892-3197)
- Abdelkrim Hmadcha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4105-3702)
- Laura Tomás‐Gallardo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9661-0521)
- Mercedes de la Cruz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2389-8576)
- Poochit Nonejuie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5130-1749)
- Ana Rodrı́guez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1577-9905)
Institutions
- Mahidol University (TH)
- Valencian International University (ES)
- University of Belgrade (RS)
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (ES)
- Fundación Medina (ES)
- Institute of Physics Belgrade (RS)
- Parque Tecnológico de la Salud (ES)
- Mahamakut Buddhist University (TH)
- Universidad Pablo de Olavide (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- EMBO Molecular Medicine
- Published
- 2025-10-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44321-025-00331-2
- Primary Topic
- Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Mahidol University
- National Research Council of Thailand
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Fundación MEDINA
- Junta de Andalucía
- European Regional Development Fund
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación