The growing number of new ‘superbugs’ that are resistant to antibiotics may soon come to a halt after researchers revealed that they may have found a way to break through armor of the bacteria cells. A resilient class of germs called Gram-negative bacteria have an impermeable lipid-based outer membrane that defends the cell against the human immune system as well as antibiotics.
Removing the barrier would cause the bacteria to become vulnerable and die.
Scientists at the University of East Anglia said they have discovered how cells transport the membrane building blocks -- molecules called lipopolysaccharides.
"We have identified the path and gate used by the bacteria to transport the barrier building blocks to the outer surface," Changjiang Dong from the university's Norwich Medical School said in a statement.
"Importantly, we have demonstrated that the bacteria would die if the gate is locked."
The discovery, published in the journal Nature, paves the way for new drugs to disrupt the building process, thus bringing down the cell walls, the team said.
Advertisement
Drug resistance makes illnesses more difficult and expensive to cure, and is spread through an entirely preventable means -- improper use of antibiotics.
Advertisement
Source-AFP