With every new antibiotic comes antibiotic resistance. No matter how much time and effort is spent developing a new drug, bacteria are quick to belittle all of our advances. Forget about the Cold War. Forget about nuclear weapons. Because the most urgent arms race that we are in–and not just “we” as in Americans, but “we” as in all humans–is the arms race against antibiotic resistant bacteria. If you think I’m being overly dramatic, just look around. Cases of HA-MRSA and CA-MRSA have tripled over a span of only six years, and it was only this past January that UCLA discovered a “superbug” in their hospital.
Let’s face it. With our current weaponry, we are fighting a losing battle against bacteria. Antibiotics have become obsolete, and we need new ammunition. Luckily, researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) may have found what we are looking for. Bacteriophages, more commonly termed “phages”, are viruses that usually infect and replicate in bacteria. While phage-based therapy has already been introduced into agriculture to combat bacterial infections in crops, the use of phages as a means to stifle antibiotic resistance is a fairly novel concept.
Image source: Science Photo Library – KTSDESIGN
Dr. Udi Qimron, who is leading the research at TAU, hopes that phages will be able to do two things: destroy antibiotic resistance in resistant bacterial strains and increase sensitivity to antibiotics in other strains. He and his associates are currently searching for optimal combinations of lysogenic phages that insert DNA into genomes of pathogens and lytic phages that select for re-sensitized pathogens and kill resistant ones. According to Dr. Qimron, he and his research team have already devised a way to restore antibiotic sensitivity and prevent the transfer of genes that create resistance among bacteria. The strategy exploits the CRISPR-Cas system, a gene editing system found in bacteria that has given researchers the ability to manipulate gene sequence and function.
In combination with disinfectants, phages may be able to decrease the number of hospital-acquired infections from antibiotic resistant bacteria. Dr. Qimron and associates hope to apply their work to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the most prevalent antibiotic resistant pathogens found in hospitals across the globe. They also plan to test bacterial sensitization in even more complex microbial environments such as the mouse cage. If these trials run smoothly, we may be able to gain an upper hand in our fight against bacteria and end this arms race for good.
Feature Image Source: antibiotics by Zach Bulick
