Battle against bacteria
Enzyme targeted as key to development of new antibiotics
John Gregg
Issue date: 11/9/09 Section: News
Antibiotic-resistant strains, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), cause thousands of deaths per year. Scientists are attempting to modify existing drugs to increase their effectiveness. Some are even attempting to make bacteria more vulnerable to current drugs.
However, as Osterman noted, existing antibacterial agents become less powerful with time. Creating new medication is expected to combat drug resistance on a broader scale.
With the creation of "super antibiotics" comes the risk of creating more "super bugs." The findings at Burnham suggest resistance could become less of a concern if such essential enzymes are destroyed.
"Bacteria are indeed very versatile in developing and propagating resistance," said Osterman. "There are several reasons to think that our strategy may be somewhat more robust than traditional antibiotics."
Osterman went on to say his colleagues selected NadD because bacteria cannot simply abandon this enzyme in order to become resistant. This means pathogens would be left extremely vulnerable to drugs specifically attacking the gene. Mutations are also less likely to occur because of the nature of NadD.
Unfortunately, bacteria will develop resistance to any agent given enough time. For this reason, the hope is to eventually develop several new antibiotics at the same time.
The strategy in this case would be to hit a resistant pathogen with a second drug, or third if necessary, in order to maintain widespread control of infections. Osterman noted, however, it could take more than 10 years before such antibiotics are marketed to patients.
"No matter how disappointing it sounds, the earlier we start the earlier we get there," said Osterman. "There is no way around, and the bottlenecks, time and money, are not in research but in clinical and regulatory issues."
There are also other possible ways to battle super bacteria. Osterman acknowledged the future possibility of building up natural immunity to certain pathogens. One option is to continue development of existing vaccines.
However, as Osterman noted, existing antibacterial agents become less powerful with time. Creating new medication is expected to combat drug resistance on a broader scale.
With the creation of "super antibiotics" comes the risk of creating more "super bugs." The findings at Burnham suggest resistance could become less of a concern if such essential enzymes are destroyed.
"Bacteria are indeed very versatile in developing and propagating resistance," said Osterman. "There are several reasons to think that our strategy may be somewhat more robust than traditional antibiotics."
Osterman went on to say his colleagues selected NadD because bacteria cannot simply abandon this enzyme in order to become resistant. This means pathogens would be left extremely vulnerable to drugs specifically attacking the gene. Mutations are also less likely to occur because of the nature of NadD.
Unfortunately, bacteria will develop resistance to any agent given enough time. For this reason, the hope is to eventually develop several new antibiotics at the same time.
The strategy in this case would be to hit a resistant pathogen with a second drug, or third if necessary, in order to maintain widespread control of infections. Osterman noted, however, it could take more than 10 years before such antibiotics are marketed to patients.
"No matter how disappointing it sounds, the earlier we start the earlier we get there," said Osterman. "There is no way around, and the bottlenecks, time and money, are not in research but in clinical and regulatory issues."
There are also other possible ways to battle super bacteria. Osterman acknowledged the future possibility of building up natural immunity to certain pathogens. One option is to continue development of existing vaccines.