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A new class of antibiotics to combat drug resistance
Called odilorhabdins, or ODLs, the antibiotics are produced by symbiotic bacteria found in soil-dwelling nematode worms that colonize insects for food. The bacteria help to kill the insect and, importantly, secrete the antibiotic to keep competing bacteria away. Until now, these nematode-associated bacteria and the antibiotics they make have been largely understudied.
[...] UIC's Alexander Mankin and Yury Polikanov are corresponding authors on the study and led the research on the antibiotic's mechanism of action. They found that ODLs act on the ribosome — the molecular machine of individual cells that makes the proteins it needs to function — of bacterial cells. "Like many clinically useful antibiotics, ODLs work by targeting the ribosome," said Polikanov, assistant professor of biological sciences in the UIC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, "but ODLs are unique because they bind to a place on the ribosome that has never been used by other known antibiotics."
Odilorhabdins, Antibacterial Agents that Cause Miscoding by Binding at a New Ribosomal Site (DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2018.03.001) (DX)
Meanwhile, an IBM research team has designed a polymer that can target at least five types of drug-resistant bacteria:
Earlier versions of synthetic polymers created problems because they essentially exploded the bacteria, releasing dangerous toxins into the bloodstream. While other scientists are researching different approaches to avoid resistance, most involve finding new molecules or proteins. IBM's synthetic molecule employs a completely different strategy.
It carries a negative electrical charge, so is drawn — like a magnet — to the positively charged surfaces of infectious cells. Then it binds to the cell, pierces the membrane, enters it and turns the inner liquid contents into solids. The new ninja polymer kills bacteria so quickly, they don't have time to mutate.
The eventual goal, said Hedrick, is to create an entirely new class of therapeutics that could treat a spectrum of infectious diseases with a single mechanism — without the onset of resistance.
Also at IBM.
A macromolecular approach to eradicate multidrug resistant bacterial infections while mitigating drug resistance onset (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03325-6) (DX)
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @03:43PM (6 children)
so will this turn you into plastic man?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Monday April 16 2018, @05:47PM (4 children)
It does not sound like it would. It seems it would only affect cells within the invading organism. The ability to prevent the onset of resistance is not futile. Indeed it would mean that this technique could lead to completely
irradiatingirrationalizingirradicating certain bacteria. Just like getting rid of polio. (Except for the stupidity of keeping samples as a bio weapon in case we ever should have a madman who would want to use it that way.)I am assuming it is up to the kidneys to correctly query the cells which have the internal plastic so that those cells can be removed from the body.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @08:56PM
Thankfully, we would never elect such a man.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @09:40PM (2 children)
I doubt kidneys have a direct way in disposing this waste (would be too big). I think it is more likely that the "plastic" needs to be degraded first into much simpler molecules before the body can get rid of it. In the worst case it bioaccumulates inside your body.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday April 16 2018, @09:57PM (1 child)
This is way out of my field. (Although I am on the intarwebs, so nothing prevents me from pretending to be an expert!)
Can the kidneys remove cell-sized objects? Or do they only work at the scale of molecules?
(Where, as I understand it, a cell is a vast machine made up of many molecules.)
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @08:25AM
Molecules. How they work is that they remove most water soluble components first (cells, like blood cells, but also bacteria, plasticized or not, are retained in the blood vessel) and transport back the usable components.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @06:26PM
> and turns the inner liquid contents into solids.
We did that when I lived in an urban dorm -- boric acid sprinkled around the edges of the room converted cockroaches into little solid items that we could sweep up.