New weapons help kill drug-resistant bacteria

A new type of peptide can puncture bacterial cell membranes, disrupt the function of important organs to kill drug-resistant bacteria.

The research team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Barsilia University and the University of British Columbia successfully produced an antimicrobial peptide that could kill bacteria, even antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It gives human protein a "biological weapon" to fight many types of infections, Nature World News reported on November 4.

New peptides can kill many types of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria.(Photo: MIT News).

The British Council study estimates that by 2050, bacteria can kill 10 million people a year without new antibiotics. This is a serious problem because bacteria are gradually developing resistance to antibiotics. Traditional medicines will no longer work for them in the future. This has led researchers and scientists to continually create new drugs, but they may not work if they use conventional methods.

Peptides are compounds containing 2-50 α radicals - amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Recent research has created a synthetic peptide called clavanin-MO , which has strong immunomodulatory and antibacterial properties in vitro and live body experiments. Antibacterial peptides can puncture the bacterial cell membrane and disrupt the function of important organs. It can destroy DNA, RNA and bacterial proteins, thus effectively destroying them.

Clavanin-MO is enhanced by adding a series of 5 amino acids to make it hydrophobic, meaning that clavanin-MO can contact and convert membranes more effectively. Experiments on mice showed that clavanin-MO can kill E.coli and Straphylococcus bacteria, which are highly resistant to antibiotics.

The team is looking for ways to make clavanin-MO work better. If improved, it can be used for humans along with traditional antibiotics.