Australia scientists find sugar key to defeating superbugs
Researchers in Australia have unveiled an experimental immune-based strategy that may help defeat hospital pathogens resistant to nearly every available antibiotic, reports a Qazinform News Agency correspondent.
A team led by University of Sydney together with partners from WEHI, University of Melbourne and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity engineered antibodies that recognize a bacterial sugar known as pseudaminic acid. The molecule is present on microbes but absent in humans, making it a precise bullseye for the immune system.
Results published in Nature Chemical Biology showed the laboratory made antibody cleared an otherwise lethal infection in mice by binding to the sugar and flagging the pathogen for destruction.
“This study shows what’s possible when we combine chemical synthesis with biochemistry, immunology, microbiology and infection biology,” said project co-leader Professor Richard Payne.
“By precisely building these bacterial sugars in the lab with synthetic chemistry, we were able to understand their shape at the molecular level and develop antibodies that bind them with high specificity. That opens the door to new ways of treating some devastating drug resistant bacterial infections.”
Using structural data, scientists produced a so-called pan specific antibody able to detect the same target across multiple strains. In trials, it eliminated multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, a frequent cause of pneumonia and bloodstream infections in hospitals.
“Multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is a critical threat faced in modern healthcare facilities across the globe,” said Professor Ethan Goddard Borger. “Our work serves as a powerful proof of concept experiment that opens the door to the development of new life saving passive immunotherapies.”
The group aims to advance the antibody toward clinical application within five years, offering fresh hope in the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that a major Swedish study tracking almost 28,000 participants over 25 years identified an unexpected association between consumption of full fat dairy products and a reduced risk of dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease.
