Study identifies novel approaches to combat antimicrobial resistance

OKLAHOMA [US]: The researchers discovered a brand-new class of molecules that block the efflux pump and restore the antibiotic’s efficacy.

Antimicrobial resistance has been identified as a global issue by the World Health Organisation because the majority of clinical antibiotics no longer effectively combat some dangerous bacteria.

Under the direction of Helen Zgurskaya, PhD, and Valentin Rybenkov, PhD, the University of Oklahoma’s Centre for Antibiotic Discovery and Resistance is attempting to pinpoint various therapeutic gimmicks.

Antibiotics work by specifically attacking the DNA or cell wall of a bacterial cell.

Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics in a number of ways, one of which is the development of efflux pumps, proteins that are present on the surface of bacterial cells.

Antibiotics that enter cells and are removed by the efflux pump are never able to kill bacteria because they are removed before they can reach their intended target.

On the other hand, OU researchers were involved in a current discovery that was reported in the journal Nature Communications.

The inhibitors work through a novel mechanism that was previously unknown. Zgurskaya’s team has discovered that these inhibitors act as a “molecular wedge” that targets the space between the inner and outer cell membranes and boosts the antibacterial activities of antibiotics.

This work was done in collaboration with teams at the Georgia Institute of Technology and King’s College London in the United Kingdom. Determining this mechanism can help in the search for novel therapeutics with potential for clinical use.

“We already live in a post-antibiotic era, and things will get much worse unless new solutions are found for antibiotic resistance in clinics. The discoveries we’ve made will facilitate the development of new treatments to help mitigate an impending crisis,” Zgurskaya said.