New treatment to combat antibiotic resistance
8 Nov 2016 by Evoluted New Media
Researchers have discovered antimicrobial peptides that can kill bacteria resistant to existing antibiotics.
Researchers have discovered antimicrobial peptides that can kill bacteria resistant to existing antibiotics.
These naturally occurring proteins can also kill viruses and fungi. They can kill microbes in a variety of different ways – one method sees them create holes in the pathogen’s membrane before moving inside and disrupting DNA, RNA and proteins.
Cesar de la Fuente, a MIT postdoc and lead author of the study published in Scientific Reports, said: “This peptide is exciting in the sense that it provides a new alternative for treating these infections, which are predicted to kill more people annually than any other cause of death in our society, including cancer."
These peptides are also able to ‘recruit’ the host’s immune system, signalling for leukocytes to secrete cells that help kill the microbes. These naturally occurring compounds can be composed of 20 different amino acids and there can be a wide variation in their sequences.
De la Fuente said: “You can tailor their sequences in such a way that you can tune them for specific functions. We have the computational power to try to generate therapeutics that can make it to the clinic and have an impact on society.”
The researchers used a naturally occurring antimicrobial peptide, clavanin-A, extracted from tunicate, a marine animal. Although it was able to kill different types of bacteria, the scientists added a sequence of five amino acids that enabled better interaction and translocation into cellular membranes. The improved peptide, clavanin-MO was found to be even more potent, especially against antibiotic resistant strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
An unexpected effect of these peptides is they possess the ability to destroy certain biofilms and also suppress the overactive inflammatory response that can cause sepsis. Researchers believe they could be embedded into surfaces such as tabletops, used as antimicrobial coatings for catheters or ointments to treat skin infections.
