Acinetobacter baumannii is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria responsible for serious infections. Researchers have developed a new antibiotic capable of killing it.
- Acinetobacter baumannii is a bacteria responsible for potentially fatal infections.
- Today, it is resistant to antibiotic treatments.
- Researchers have developed a new drug capable of killing this bacteria.
In 2017, theWorld Health Organization listed a series of bacteria, for which there was an urgent need to find an effective antibiotic. Acinetobacter baumannii was part of it. This bacteria, nicknamed CRAB, causes serious infections of the lungs, urinary tract and blood, which can be fatal. However, it is resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics called carbapenems. In the magazine Naturea team from Harvard University and the Swiss laboratory Hoffmann-La Roche explains that they have succeeded in developing a new effective antibiotic treatment.
Resistant bacteria: a new antibiotic capable of eliminating it
“This is a new approach, both in terms of the compound itself and the mechanism by which it kills bacteria.”specifies Dr. Kenneth Bradley, one of the authors of this study. A. baumannii is a Gram-negative bacteria, meaning it is protected by internal and external membranes, making it difficult to attack. The scientists first tried to identify a molecule capable of crossing these double membranes, then to modify it so that it would be able to eliminate the bacteria. It took them years to improve this molecule, so that it was sufficiently powerful but safe for humans.
Antibiotic: a conclusive trial on the deadly superbug
The new drug developed through this work is called zosurabalpine. It prevents the movement of large molecules called lipopolysaccharides towards the outer membrane of the bacteria, which keeps the protective membrane intact. “The molecules then accumulate inside the bacterial cell, to the point that the cell becomes so toxic that it dies., explain the researchers in a press release. They tested the treatment on around 100 CRAB samples and it worked. In a mouse trial, the drug reduced bacteria levels in rodents with CRAB-induced pneumonia and prevented the death of mice with sepsis also triggered by the bacteria.
In an article from CNN, the scientists specified that zosurabalpine was currently being tested in phase 1 clinical trials, to assess its safety in humans. It will be several more years before the drug is used. “I think from an academic point of view it is exciting to see a new type of molecule emerge that kills bacteria in a different wayalready rejoices Dr César de la Fuente, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, in the article in the American media. We certainly need new ways of thinking about antibiotic discovery, and I think this is a good example of that..”
Resistant bacteria: a new way of looking at antibiotics?
He is thinking in particular of the type of medicine created. This new treatment will only be effective against these specific bacteria, unlike broad-spectrum antibiotics. But this researcher believes that this is not necessarily problematic. “For decades we have been obsessed with creating or discovering broad-spectrum antibiotics that kill everythinghe adds. Why not try to come up with specific, more precise antibiotics that target only the pathogen causing the infection and not all the others that are potentially beneficial to us?”
