Resensitization to colistin results in rapid and stable recovery of adherence, serum resistance and ompW in Acinetobacter baumannii.

In this study, we observed that A. baumannii regulates adhesion, efflux pumps and serum-resistance associated genes as an early response to colistin stress. Besides, the ompW protein disappears in the cell membrane of colistin resistant cells which recovers after resensitization to colistin. The lack of ompW protein in colistin-resistant cells should be taken into consideration for escape mutants in development of antivirulence vaccination or treatment options.