Researchers Developed New Antibiotic for Broad-range and “Resistance-free”
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Viruses using phage attack bacteria. With billions of years’ experience, phages have trained their unique armor to infect bacterial via the weak point. In order to figure countermeasures, researchers took use of the “armor” to identify new antibiotic target that could escape from resistance.
As reported by PLoS ONE, a new antibiotic that could kill broad-range of bacteria, including anthrax-causing bacteria Bacillus anthracis and methicillin-resistance Staphylococus aureus (MRSA) has been found. The new antibiotic was called Epimerox, developed by the research team collaborating with a pharmaceutical company.
Target selection is an important direction for the development of new antimicrobial agents. But people usually put focus on bacterial survival. The researchers thought that the molecular targets might be used depending on the resistance degree.
Based on past studies, researchers identified a regulatory mechanism in 2-epimerase enzyme, which involves direct interaction between one substrate molecule in the enzyme’s active site and another in the enzyme’s allosteric site. They chose allosteric site of 2-epimerase to develop inhibitory compounds since they didn’t found the same enzyme in human but in other bavterial. Finally an inhibitor of 2-epimerase, namely Epimerox was developed.
Then researchers tested the inhibitor in mice infected with Bacillus anthracis. Surprisingly, the mice not only infect anthrax, but no resistance to the inhibitor. With more tests, they found Epimerox could also kill drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with no evidence of resistance.
Their discovery was vital for the further research of microbiology and antibiotic resistance concern.
Article Link: Researchers Developed New Antibiotic for Broad-range and “Resistance-free”