Find out which compound helps kill 98% of an antibiotic-resistant bacterium from sponges

This finding could pave the way for finding a new, more effective antibacterial drug that saves tens of thousands of lives every year.

Staphylococcus Aureus infection - or staphylococcus - is quite common, especially in hospitals. Under normal conditions, they are not too difficult to treat. But methicillin-resistant staphylococcus - or MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) - is a strain that has developed resistance to most of the antibiotics we currently have. That means it will quickly develop from an external infection, such as a skin infection, into a dangerous disease, which can be life-threatening.

Photograph of Aureus Staphyloccocus bacterium.

According to the CDC, about 80,000 MRSA infections are diagnosed in the United States each year, and about 11,000 people die from complications of MRSA - and right now, we really don't have much. choose to fight them.

That's why the discovery of this new compound, dubbed "Darwinolide" , became so rewarding. Researchers found it in an Antarctic sponge , called Dendrilla membranosa , that initially tested it to kill 98.4% of MRSA cells.

Dendrilla membranosa sponges in Antarctica.

"It is an effective protection against bacteria with interesting properties . " One of the researchers, James McClintock, from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, said.

It is still very early to confirm, but this is not the first time that interesting medical compounds have been found hiding in Antarctic ocean organisms. McClintock and his team have identified an algae compound that helps fight the H1N1 flu virus, and there is another effect against skin cancer.

What appeals to biologists is that the area is so harsh that life is forced to find some unique ways to survive - including some powerful, defensive mechanisms, for example, compounds. toxic.

Darwinolide is resistant to MRSA in clinical trials.

"Sponges are not protected by shells and they cannot move." McClintock said. He added that this helps them not need any physical defense to fight the bacteria that are full in their water environment. "When you are in such an unprotected state, you will suffer a continuous battle."

The solution of sponges is to produce a series of "uncomfortable compounds" to kill bacteria as soon as they come in contact, hoping to keep themselves from becoming infected. And McClintock's team is now able to isolate one of those substances - darwinolide - and has shown its enormous potential, at least in the lab, to fight MRSA.

Researchers now have patents for this compound, but they are still in the process of understanding exactly how it works. So far, tests only show that it has a special structure, allowing it to penetrate the " biofilm" that MRSA uses to protect itself from treatments.

"When we use antibiotics, they are like chasing this kind of bacteria in the water." McClintock said that is why antibiotics are often useless against MRSA.

Microscopic images show that MRSA bacteria are surrounded by cells.

"Darwinolide is different from previous compounds, but is somewhat similar to drug candidates from sponges, because its inner ring structure is rearranged in an unusual way." Another researcher in the group, Charles Amsler, added.

"If the rearrangement of important chemicals is part of the ability to effectively combat bacterial biofilm, it can help create a scaffold to develop types. Other drugs target pathogens within the biofilm. "

The next step will be Darwinolide synthesis in the lab, so they are not dependent on extracting them from the Antarctic sponges anymore. This will also provide more insight into its structure, and will help the whole team find out exactly how it works against MRSA, and whether it can turn into a treatment. .

If researchers can show that Darwinolide is resistant to MRSA in clinical trials, it could help save the lives of tens of thousands of people every year, so everyone is very interested in seeing what What will happen next.