According to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, every year at least 2 million people in America
become infected by bacteria resistant to antibiotics, and 23,000 people die
from such infections. Researchers have been working to combat this major public
health threat for years. One of the latest fronts in this fight involves
antimicrobial peptides and lipopeptides, which can destroy bacterial membranes.
But translating these molecules into clinical products has been difficult. More
recently, researchers have developed a new class of membrane-busting compounds
called lysine-conjugated aliphatic norspermidine analogues (LANAs) that have
been effective at killing certain bacteria and the Ebola virus in lab tests.
Mohini Mohan Konai and Jayanta Haldar wanted to see if these compounds could
also work against MRSA.
The researchers found that LANAs were effective against four MRSA strains in
lab experiments. Testing on mice showed that the compounds could eliminate MRSA
skin infections, which form notoriously difficult-to-treat biofilms. Even after
20 passages, the MRSA bacteria failed to develop resistance to the compounds.
The results suggest that LANAs could be strong contenders for treating MRSA
skin infections, the researchers say.
For more details see:
No comments:
Post a comment
Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources