In the United States alone, approximately 3 million people annually become infected with drug-resistant bacteria and fungi, resulting in approximately 35,000 deaths. Antibiotics are essential and effective, but in recent years overuse has led to the development of resistance in some bacteria. We consider it a top 10 health threat.
Now, Professor John E. Moses of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has created a new weapon against these drug-resistant superbugs. This is an antibiotic that can change shape by rearranging its atoms.
Moses got the idea for shape-shifting antibiotics while observing a tank in military training. Rotating turrets and agile movements allowed the tank to quickly respond to possible threats.
Years later, Moses learned about a molecule called Bulvalene. Bullvalene is a fractional molecule, meaning its atoms can exchange positions. This allows it to morph in over a million possible configurations. Exactly the liquidity Moses was looking for.
Several bacteria such as MRSA, VRSA and VRE have developed resistance to a powerful antibiotic called vancomycin, which is used to treat everything from skin infections to meningitis. Moses thought that combining it with Bulvalen could improve the drug’s ability to fight bacteria.
He turned to click chemistry, a Nobel Prize-winning fast, high-yielding chemical reaction that reliably “clicks” on molecules. This makes the reaction more efficient and broader in use.
“Click chemistry is amazing,” says Moses, who studied this innovative development under two-time Nobel laureate K. Barry Sharpless. “It gives you certainty and gives you the best chance of making something complicated.”
Using this technique, Moses and his colleagues created a new antibiotic with two vancomycin “warheads” and a fluctuating bluvalene center.
Moses worked with Dr. Tatiana Soares da-Costa (University of Adelaide) to test new drugs. The researchers gave the drug to wax moth larvae infected with her VRE, which is commonly used to test antibiotics. They found that the shape-changing antibiotic was far more effective than vancomycin in clearing deadly infections. .
Researchers can use click chemistry and shape-changing antibiotics to create a host of new drugs, Moses explains. Such weapons against infection may even be key to the survival and evolution of our species.
“If we could invent a molecule that could mean the difference between life and death, it would be the greatest achievement of all time,” he says.
Original: New shape-shifting antibiotic could fight deadly infections
Than: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory | University of Adelaide
