REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Clinical Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1548048
This article is part of the Research TopicInsights into Haemophilus spp. in Clinical Context: Unravelling the Pathogenic PotentialView all articles
Exploiting haem-iron dependence of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae: an avenue for future therapeutic development
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
- 2Menzies Institute for Medical Research, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- 3Child and Maternal Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia
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Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a major respiratory pathogen that imposes a substantial disease burden, globally. Further amplifying the burden of NTHi-associated infections is the rapidly expanding spectrum and prevalence of antibiotic resistance, and the lack of an effective vaccination strategy. In 2017, the World Health Organization list of "priority pathogens", highlighted the urgent need for new therapeutic agents against NTHi. Consequently, alternative preventative or treatment approaches that do not rely on antibiotic susceptibility or stable vaccine targets are becoming more attractive. The nutritional dependency for haem/iron at all stages of NTHi pathogenesis exposes a vulnerability that may be exploited for the development of such therapies. This review explores the role of haem/iron in all facets of NTHi pathogenesis, the host-bacterial competition for this vital nutrient, and the therapeutic potential of strategies that interfere with its acquisition.
Keywords: Haem acquisition, New therapeutic agents, nontypeable H. influenzae, Respiratory Infections, Iron
Received: 19 Dec 2024; Accepted: 22 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Atto, Gell, Marsh and Tristram. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Brianna Atto, School of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
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