A New Class of Antibiotics to Combat Drug Resistance

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Nosopharm, a biotechnology company based in Lyon, France, are part of an international team reporting on the discovery of a new class of antibiotics.

A new class of antibiotics to combat drug resistance. Image credit: Bmramon/Wikimedia Cmmns (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The antibiotic, first identified by Nosopharm, is unique and promising on two fronts: its unconventional source and its distinct way of killing bacteria, both of which suggest the compound may be effective at treating drug-resistant or hard-to-treat bacterial infections.

Called odilorhabdins, or ODLs, the antibiotics are produced by symbiotic bacteria found in soil-dwelling nematode worms that colonize insects for food. The bacteria help to kill the insect and, importantly, secrete the antibiotic to keep competing bacteria away. Until now, these nematode-associated bacteria and the antibiotics they make have been largely understudied.

ODLs act on the ribosome -- the molecular machine of individual cells that makes the proteins it needs to function -- of bacterial cells. When bound to the ribosome, the antibiotic disrupts its ability to interpret and translate genetic code.

While many antibiotics can slow bacterial growth, antibiotics that actually kill bacteria, called bactericidal antibiotics, are rare.

The bactericidal mechanism of ODLs and the fact that they bind to a site on the ribosome not exploited by any known antibiotic are very strong indicators that ODLs have the potential to treat infections that are unresponsive to other antibiotics.

The ODL compounds cured mice infected with several pathogenic bacteria and demonstrated activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens, notably including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriacae.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriacae, or CRE, are a family of germs that have high levels of resistance to antibiotics -- one study suggests that CRE, which are the common culprits in bloodstream and surgical site infections, contribute to death in up to 50 percent of patients who become infected.

The researchers say this study is a testament to the growing trend of international and cross-disciplinary collaboration, which is needed to combat the growing and global threat of antibiotic resistance. (Tasnim News Agency)

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