io9
You've probably heard that all the antibiotics we take are breeding new generations of drug-resistant bacteria. In fact, many diseases we once killed easily with Penicillin now require mega-doses of super-antibiotics like Cipro. While researchers have known for a long time that bacteria are developing resistance to drugs, they weren't sure how the tiny organisms did it. Now a research team at the University of Illinois has figured it out — and that means we're like to see new, smarter antibiotics (you can see the chemical structure of one such antibiotic, Erythromycin, at left).
A release from the University of Illinois explains:
Erythromycin and newer macrolide antibiotics azithromycin and clarithromycin are often used to treat respiratory tract infections, as well as outbreaks of syphilis, acne and gonorrhea. The drugs can be used by patients allergic to penicillin.This is good news for many of us who have been worried about antibiotic resistance. It could mean a more targeted method of killing dangerous bacteria in our bodies, and a future without mega-infections.Macrolide antibiotics act upon the ribosomes, the protein-synthesizing factories of the cell. A newly-made protein exits the ribosome through a tunnel that spans the ribosome body. Antibiotics can ward off an infection by attaching to the ribosome and preventing proteins the bacterium needs from moving through the tunnel.
Some bacteria have learned how to sense the presence of the antibiotic in the ribosomal tunnel, and in response, switch on genes that make them resistant to the drug, Mankin said. The phenomenon of inducible antibiotic expression was known decades ago, but the molecular mechanism was unknown.
Mankin and his team of researchers — Nora Vazquez-Laslop, assistant professor in the Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, and undergraduate student Celine Thum — used new biochemical and genetic techniques to work out the details of its operation.
"Combining biochemical data with the knowledge of the structure of the ribosome tunnel, we were able to identify some of the key molecular players involved in the induction mechanism," said Vazquez-Laslop.
"We only researched response to erythromycin-like drugs because the majority of the genetics were already known," she said. "There may be other antibiotics and resistance genes in pathogenic bacteria regulated by this same mechanism. This is just the beginning."
UIC scientists discover why some bacteria resist antibiotics [Eurekalert]
Comments
Wow that is fantastic news...
It is good that we can figure out how they are becoming resistant, and counter design our drugs...
of course this is just a temporary gain.. they will develop new resistance.. which hopefully we will find a way to counter..
i'm so paranoid about drug-resistant bugs that i won't use antibacterial soap, or hand sanitizer.
that is so cool....
Stuff like this is huge right now in chemistry.. Everyone at the CDC knows of the problem and a large number of research companies are working on this. The main problem CMG is that the "bugs" that are going to get you aren't going to be the "drug resistant ones" but the ones that mutate so quickly we can't find a way to stop them before its too late.(Cue doomsday music)
Eh, life will find a way around this. It always does. Then we shall discover a new road-block, and the bacteria shall adapt to that.
The second we find a way to kill 100% of bacteria 100% of the time with no chance of adaptation is the second we find the one thing that can render our planet barren short of a cosmic event. The best thing to do would be to find ways to boost our immune system without vaccinating against every known pathogen. Either that or cycle between antibiotics of various strengths and mixtures. By the time one immunity develops and another fades we will have switched.
@Ghede: Duh we have lots of things that can 100% of bacteria 100% of the time...
They just have a side effect of killing you too...
Most antibotics require your immune system to mop up the bacteria anyways.. all we are doing is helping slow down and disable bacteria for your immune system, to help it win..
Human beings are just highly organized colonies of billions of bacteria!
@mikecap: Billions and billions and billions . . . of bacteria. Sorry, it had to be said. :)
It might work for awhile but some bacteria will find a way to become resistant to the anti-resistant antibiotics. It's an endless arms race. Cipro is by no means a "super antibiotic." It's just a modern antibiotic. Penicillin and sulfa were the first and they still work in limited situations, but there's a dozen others that have better coverage.
Plus, you can't kill all the bacteria. Not only would you screw up the ecosystem, you would die. Humans are colonized with a great deal of bacteria that help us more than harm us. Colonization is good. Infection is bad. Infection results when a bacteria starts growing or becomes too dominant where it shouldn't grow and creates havoc. For instance, urine in your bladder is sterile. When you get a bladder infection, it's because of the bacteria from your outer skin or your ass, more commonly, got a chance to creep and crawl their way up the urethra. A feat much easier in women due to their shorter urethras and additional orifice (a.k.a. the honey pot).
@medeasin: Great now school kids are going to have fights about who has the longest urethra...
@Annalee Newitz:
@mikecap:
Actually the human body is made up of billions of eukaryotic cells, which are different from prokaryotic organisms, such as bacteria. The difference in lingo is that eukaryotic cells have a membrane-bound nucleus and prokaryotes have a nonmembrane-bound nucleus (in addition to lacking other more advanced cellular structures). I know I sound like an ass, but it's the science nerd in me.
* also prokaryotes lack other membrane-bound organelles.
This makes it sound like Erythromycin is some new drug. I believe it's been around since the 60s. I got it when I went into the Navy, because I was allergic to penicillin (and boy, was I lucky.)
@Scaramanga9: Not really...
"Erythromycin and newer macrolide"
So Erythromycin is in a class along with newer macrolides..
And it doesn't make it sound like Erytho is the new anti-resistance- antibotic...
@monkeytail41: If we are going to be science nerds/asses - it might be worth noting that Ciprofloxacin isn't really a super-drug. It is a drug of last resort, meaning its use is reserved to limit the development of resistant. It really isn't any different than other fluoroquinolones.
But will these new drugs be usable for people who are allergic to all the others?
Basically, I'm down to pre-penicillin medical care for infections: clean your hands and pray no bacteria set up housekeeping. Mild infections, I tough out b/c the cure is literally worse than the disease for me.
Of course, better drugs for the rest of you will help me through herd immunity. So, you bastards, stop misusing the antibiotics you're lucky enough to be able to take!!!
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