New Class of Antibiotics Shows Promise Against Harmful Bacteria

A new type of antibiotic that interrupts protein synthesis in bacteria could be used to create more effective treatments against the bacteria that cause shigellosis, tuberculosis and anthrax. Scientists tested about 650,000 different molecules on a strain of E. coli. Of those, they identified 46 that disrupt a process that bacterial cells use to replicate. The scientists then tested those compounds on several bacteria that can cause lethal infections in people. One of the molecules was 100 times more effective than current treatments for tuberculosis and showed antibiotic activity against a broad spectrum of bacterial species. The researchers also predict that bacteria may be slow to evolve resistance to these new antibiotics.
Source: NIGMS Biomedical Beat - Category: Research Source Type: news