New drug 'empowers' immune system to tackle superbugs

A new drug has been developed which empowers the immune system to tackle superbugs, researchers have claimed.

Scientists at Université de Montréal have taken a new approach to combating the superbugs, opting to weaken the infections rather than kill them, thus allowing the body's immune system to take over the fight. The researchers have compared the drug's affect to a naked Darth Vader, confirming that biochemistry researchers can be as whimsical as they are inventive.

Dr Christian Baron, the study's lead author and professor at the Department of Biochemistry, said: "To understand this strategy one could imagine harmful bacteria being like Darth Vader, and the anti-virulence drug would take away his armour and lightsaber.

"A naked Darth Vader would be an easy target and similarly, pathogenic bacteria without their virulence factors would be rendered harmless and eliminated by our immune system."

The research, to be published in Chemistry & Biology, will look to overcome a long-standing problem of how to combat superbugs.

Antibiotics kill by targeting the essential cell functions of most (not always all) bacteria, which allows the most adaptable bacteria to survive. However, the anti-virulence drugs could help beat bacteria by weakening it, allowing the immune system to perform its function.

Dr Baron's team found that small molecules that target proteins in a biological system that is required for many bacteria to be harmful.

"As if we were pulling on a loose thread in Darth Vader's cape, we have found a way to unravel the molecular details of the binding of these molecules to a target protein known as VirB8, a key part of the virulence mechanism of human and animal pathogenic

Brucella species of bacteria," Dr Baron explained.

The research is a new and unique approach to combating superbugs, although the concept of anti-virulence drugs still has to be proven in the clinic.

Posted by Neil Clark