Good Bacteria May Eliminate Bad Bacteria Better Than Antibiotics

AHA Publisher — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 07:00:06 +0000

Brian Blum via Israel21c – The bacteria wars are coming. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have pitted “good” bacteria against “bad” bacteria and the good guys, it appears, are winning. If the system can be scaled, this new approach could potentially replace antibiotics, which are increasingly struggling against antibiotic-resistant “superbugs.” For the TAU study, the researchers used a toxin injection system known as a “Type 6 Secretion System.” It’s usually deployed by pathogenic (“bad”) bacteria. They introduced the system into a “friendly” bacterium, Vibrio natriegens, which is not harmful to humans. The researchers described their technology as similar to a microscopic poison arrow shot from a good bacterium to eliminate a bad bacterium under specific conditions. “The system that we built allows us to engineer ‘good’ bacteria that can recognize pathogenic bacteria, attack them with toxins, and neutralize them,” explains Dr. Dor Salomon, who co-led the study. “We know how to change and control every component in the system and create a bacterium that neutralizes different strains of bacteria. This is proof of feasibility, showing that we have the knowledge and ability to create bacteria that take advantage of this killing system and may serve as antibiotic treatments.” The current bacteria prototype is best suited for bugs that occur naturally in saltwater. This is a growing concern, as fish and seafood constitute a major food source in many regions of the world. “Their productivity is severely impaired as a result of bacteria-borne diseases,” Solomon notes, “and since we want to avoid pouring antibiotics into aquaculture farms, a biological solution such as the one we have developed is an effective alternative.” The system will eventually be adapted to treat pathogenic bacteria in humans, farm animals and plants. Tel Aviv University has filed a patent application through Ramot, the university’s technology-transfer company. In addition to Solomon, Dr. Biswanath Jana and Kinga Kappel of the department of clinical microbiology and immunology at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine participated in the research. The results were published this month in the scientific journal EMBO Reports. To read the original article click here.

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Molecular Tweezers Take on Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

AHA Publisher — Wed, 19 May 2021 07:00:56 +0000

Jon Schiller via Israel21c – Scientists from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva, along with American and German colleagues, have developed “molecular tweezers” to destroy the biofilm that surrounds and protects antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the body. Antibiotic resistance occurs when germs like bacteria or fungi develop the ability to defeat medicines designed to kill them. Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant germs are difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to treat. The molecular tweezers developed by Prof. Raz Jelinek, and his PhD student Ravit Malishev from BGU’s department of chemistry, change the structural and assembly properties of the biofilm surrounding antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This clears a path for the immune system to effectively combat infection. They tested two types of molecular tweezers on Staphylococcus Aureus (Staph) bacteria to either disrupt biofilm formation or break existing biofilms. The mortality rate from Staph infections in the US is over 25 percent. “Binding the tweezers to the biofilm disrupts its protective capabilities,” said Jelinek, who is also Ben-Gurion University’s Vice President of Research & Development and a member of the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology. “In consequence, the bacterial pathogens become much less virulent to the human body, and more vulnerable to elimination by the immune system,” he added. “Our discovery prevents infection without building up antibiotic resistance. As such, it might even be preferable to construct treatments based on molecular tweezers rather than antibiotics.” Results of the successful study were recently published in Cell Chemical Biology. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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Good Bacteria May Eliminate Bad Bacteria Better Than Antibiotics

Molecular Tweezers Take on Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria