Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found a new tool to fight the growing number of antibiotic-resistant infections called "superbugs."
It could lead to a whole new class of more effective antibiotics.
Robert Fecik, a U of M assistant professor of medicinal chemistry, helped lead the research. He says, "Traditionally, antibiotics have been derived from substances that are made by bacteria."
But now Fecik and a team of scientists from the U of M and University of Michigan have uncovered just how bacteria form antibiotics, more specifically, how the bacteria use enzymes to make ring shaped antibiotic molecules. They are the first to capture and illustrate the process of closing the antibiotic ring. They have pictures to show it.
One picture shows, "?the bacterial enzyme forming the ring structure that is found in antibiotic drugs such as erythromycin."
Until now, this was a process that was not clearly understood. "So by having a greater understanding of how the bacteria make them, then we can manipulate these pathways so that we can make new antibiotics," Fecik says.
New antibiotics would help fight infections that are already growing resistant to current antibiotics. And there's another benefit to Fecik's discovery.
Currently, new antibiotics are created through chemical manipulation which can result in toxic waste. Fecik says this new method is much more environmentally friendly. "This utilizes and harnesses the power of the bacteria to produce new drugs instead of chemists doing it in the lab."
But while this new discovery is exciting, Fecik says it could be a while before consumers see a new class of antibiotics. "Typically, this is a process that can take several years."
Fecik's research will appear in the journal Nature Chemical Biology
By Renee Tessman, KARE 11 News
(Copyright 2006 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
