One Million People: That is an estimate of the number of individuals who die from infections that resist drugs such as antibiotics according to a report in BBC News.
Yet, despite the absence of new antibiotics, there has been little research to cope with demand.
The new discovery is a process whereby anti-germ molecules are produced within our cells. Professor Daniel Davis, an Imperial College immunologist, explained that the discovery alters the knowledge of the way our bodies fight infection.
Professor Yifat Merbi of the Weizmann Science Institute suggests that the scientists were not aware of the process taking place until now.
The Discovery
Scientists have discovered a part of the immune system that recycles proteins and ejects chemicals that kill bacteria. It has changed our understanding of how we are shielded against infection. It has become the newest area where scientists are looking for antibiotics that can protect against the problem of superbugs able to resist our arsenal of drugs.
Proteasome, a tiny structure found in each cell of the body, is at the center of the discovery. Its main function has been quality control of protein. It cuts old proteins for recycling and creates new proteasomes.
It selectively degrades proteins if they are damaged, misfolded, or if a cell does not need them.
However, after various experiments which are explained in the journal Nature, scientists found that the new immunity mechanism is happening throughout the body.
Old proteins are transformed into weapons that can penetrate the outer layer of bacteria and kill them. A whole new class of natural antibiotics has been identified. The process has been tested on bacteria grown in the laboratory as well as mice with sepsis and pneumonia.
Some researchers reported results on a par with established antibiotics. Most notably, the researchers reported that when proteasome was disabled, it was much easier to infect them with Salmonella or other bacteria.
Prior to being selected for degradation, proteins are marked with ubiquitin, which is a small protein tag. The proteasome identifies the selected proteins and degrades them into peptides.
Cellular Processes:
The function of the proteasome is critical for various processes such as:
- Cell regulation: Ensuring timing of events and degrading progression of the cell cycle
- Signal transduction: Removal of proteins regulating signaling pathways
- Apoptosis (cell death): Degrading the proteins relating to cell death
- Immune response: Presenting peptides to the body’s immune system and degrading proteins
The structure is complex. It includes multiple subunits, a core particle and a regulatory particle that can identify proteins that have been ubiquitin-tagged. Proteasome is now a critical target for anticancer therapy.
The professor cautioned that for this study to become a new source of antibiotics, it must be adequately tested and that takes a fair amount of time.
Source: BBC
