Posted on 07/21/2004 10:52:57 AM PDT by LibWhacker
07/20/04 -- More and more common antibiotics are losing their effectiveness because they are used too often, allowing bacteria to develop resistance to the drugs. A University of Rhode Island researcher has found a solution to this problem with a natural compound that boosts antibiotic strength from 100 to 1,000 times. While conducting research on infection prevention, URI Microbiology Professor Paul Cohen stumbled upon a compound -- lysophosphatidic acid -- that is naturally produced in the human body in great quantities wherever there is inflammation.
According to Cohen, bacteria are divided into two groups -- Gram-positive and Gram-negative -- based on the structure of their cell walls. When lysophosphatidic acid is administered in small amounts (80 micromolars), it sensitizes the Gram-negative bacteria 100 to 1,000 times so only small quantities of antibiotics are needed to kill the bacteria. When administered to fight Gram-positive bacteria, the compound kills the bacteria without needing any antibiotics.
"In combination with this compound, even older antibiotics become much more powerful," Cohen said. "It not only makes older antibiotics useful again, but it also allows them to be used in reduced dosages."
Lysophosphatidic acid is currently available commercially as a powder for researchers. Cohen holds a patent on its use with antibiotics. He said it can be formulated for a variety of applications, depending on where the infection is found.
"For cystic fibrosis patients, for instance, who often suffer from lung infections, it can be formulated for use as an inhalant. Burn patients or those with acne can use it as a lotion to rub on the skin. It can be applied in many ways," said the Narragansett resident who worked on the project with URI Professor David Laux, former URI technician Maryjane Utley and Danish researcher Karen Krogfelt of the Statenserum Institut in Copenhagen.
Cohen said that since the compound is naturally found in the bloodstream, it is non-toxic and patients should not be allergic to it. "We know it works in the test tube," he said, "but we still need to show that it works on animals. I'm sure that for surface diseases like acne, doctors would use it right away."
Cohen is seeking pharmaceutical-based partners to invest in the project and fund the next stage of research to bring this discovery to market.
medical pingage.
The biggest story of the century so far.........
The biggest anti-biotics on the horizon are crocodillin and komododillin which are peptides derived from crocodile and komodo dragon blood. They seem to destroy any bacteria so far.
This guy is also apparently working on an E. Coli vaccine.
Sounds quite interesting as antibiotic research for bacteria is progressing at a snail's pace. The big drug companies make the big bucks on drugs taken on a chronic basis, not relatively rare and episodic bacterial infections.
Do you have any references to crocodillin and komododillin.
I can't find either at PubMed or google them.
That's interesting. It figures those critters have some kind of super-effective defense. I've heard there are so many nasty bacteria in the mouths of komodo dragons, that you'll die of infection if a komodo's tooth just grazes you.
Editor must've been sleeping.
BBC: Croc Blood Battles Superbugs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/680840.stm
Antibiotics from Big Scary Reptiles: http://www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/pharm/antibiot/readings/croc.htm
Carolyn
Thanks for the links.
Airborne noticed an interesting article PING.
Croc Blood Battles Superbugs 3-17-00 Scientists in the United States have isolated a powerful agent in crocodile blood which could help conquer human infections immune to standard antibiotics. The discovery was made thanks to the curiosity of a BBC science producer filming a documentary on salt-water crocodiles in Australia, BBC Director-General Greg Dyke revealed on Thursday. "Our producer noticed something that surprised her - despite the horrendous injuries the crocs inflict on each other, their wounds rarely get infected," he told the annual dinner of the Science Museum in London. "She discussed this with a young croc expert who agreed that it would be interesting to try to find out why. "After many adventures, they got their blood samples and last week a leading research institute isolated from these samples what I'm told is a novel anti-microbial peptide. Bacteria 'blown away' "In tests, this substance kills strains of virulent bacteria that are resistant to all standard antibiotics," Mr Dyke said. Named crocodillin, it may one day be used in drugs to treat human infections.
Pretty impressive stuff.
I should've checked the posts you were an hour before me . Oh, well. Interesting stuff. I wonder if you took some crocodile blood and spinned it in a centrifuge if you could just take the top part and if it would be useful. It's just a peptide so it should be light.
bump
If/when they are ever released for humans, they will probably have some catchy names like Whatacroc and Kilzitol.
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