University of Montana researchers and their partners have discovered a slim strategy that bacteria use to defeat antibiotics and other drugs used to fight infectious diseases. adversely affect people with cystic fibrosis. The research was published February 23 in the journal Cell reports.
Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease that causes chronic lung disease and impairs a person’s ability to breathe over time. A common strain of bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, often thrives in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis, as well as injuries from burns or diabetic ulcers. Once P. aeruginosa infection is established, it can be very difficult to treat, despite continuous courses of antibiotics.
Dr Laura Jennings, an assistant research professor in the UM Department of Biological Sciences and affiliated to the University’s Center for Translational Medicine, said their research showed that the wild bacteria that live in lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis forming a self-produced carbohydrate slime. And this slime makes the bacteria more resistant to the antibiotics that doctors prescribe, as well as drugs that reduce mucus thickness.
We found the first direct evidence that these carbohydrates are produced at sites of infection. We showed that one of the carbohydrates, called Pel, adheres to extracellular DNA, which is abundant in the thick mucus secretions that are evident in the lungs of cystic fibrosis. This interaction forms a narrow protective cover around the bacteria, making them harder to kill, “she said.” Thus, it reduces the vulnerability of the pathogen to antibiotics and targeted drugs. Reduce airway mucus thickness by digesting DNA. “
Dr. Laura Jennings, Research Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Associate, Center for Translational Medicine, University of Montana
She said the work supports the idea that the bacteria that accumulate, or accumulate, are the bacteria in the lungs of cystic fibrosis.
“This is important because we know that physically breaking down bacterial accumulations can be prone to killing with antibiotics and immune system cells,” Jennings said. “Thus, an understanding of the mechanisms that stimulate bacterial accumulation may allow for new therapeutic approaches that target the carbohydrates that hold bacterial cells together.”
The research also suggests that the Pel carbohydrate appears to reduce the effectiveness of the most common treatments for cystic fibrosis, which are ingested antibiotics and a drug that breaks down the thickness of the mucus. -airway, making it easier to cough.
Source:
University of Montana