There ’s no deny that we ’re in the thick of a global antibiotic crisis . accord to theWorld Health Organization(WHO ) , if we do n’t take on the ever - growing problem soon , we ’re on a one - way journey towards a post - antibiotic era , in which normally treatable infections become killers .
There are a identification number of fashion that we could border on the horrific berth , such as reducing the use of antibiotics in intensive livestock production , performing tests on patients to secure the correct antibiotic drug is used , encourage completion of the prescribed course of treatments , encourage hand hygiene and other infection control measuring in clinical configurations , to name a few . But ultimately , we ’re still go to take to come up with effective antibiotic alternatives , rather those which do n’t advance the development of resistance .
Realizing that the race is on , scientists across the world have been working hard to achieve this , and a few hopeful therapy could be in the pipeline , such as using virus ( phages ) to attack bacteria , or self - assembling “ ninja polymers . ” Now , researchers from theUniversity of Bernhave uprise an innovative raw antibiotic alternative that has yield promising results in animal studies .
As distinguish in the journalNature Biotechnology , their new compounds are compose of tiny , naturally occurring fatty mote call lipids . These join together to form nanoparticles know as liposomes which mimic the membrane of our own cells . These liposome effectively act as bait for the toxins produce by various bacterial pathogens , confiscate them away from our vulnerable cells . Normally , these toxins punch maw in our cell , causing them to leak out out their contents and die . However , toxins border to the liposomes are obstruct from being able to do this and are therefore rendered harmless .
“ The toxins are fatally attracted to the liposomes,”explainslead research worker Eduard Babiychuk , “ and once they are attach , they can be eliminate well without peril for the host cells . ”
The teamtestedout their liposomes on computer mouse with septicemia ( infection that has spread to the blood flow ) do by two medically important bacterial pathogens : Staphylococcus aureusandStreptococcus pneumonia . They found that administer the liposomes 10 time of day after transmission rescued the mice from the life - threatening condition , without the indigence for additional antibiotic therapy . Untreated shiner , on the other hand , died within 24 to 33 time of day .
Because the liposome do n’t target the bacterium themselves , they place littleselection pressureon the pathogens and therefore do not encourage the development of resistor , which is a crucially important characteristic .
The researchers envisage that these liposomes could either be used alone orin conjunctionwith antibiotics to combat contagion . Because liposome are already used in drug delivery systems , hopefully it wo n’t be too long before human clinical trials can commence . In fact , they design to deport astudyas shortly as next twelvemonth in gravely sick patients with pneumococcal pneumonia .
[ ViaUniversity of Bern , Nature Biotechnology , gizmagandGenetic Engineering & Biotechnology News ]
