2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: Acinetobacter baumannii, Indian institute of science, Omega76

PROTEIN TO KILL DRUG-RESISTANT BACTERIUM

For: Preliminary

Topics covered: Anti-Microbial Peptide, Advantages, Indian Institute of Science

Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) has designed an anti-microbial peptide (AMP).

AMP can effectively and quickly kill a notorious multidrug-resistant bacterium called Acinetobacter baumannii.

Anti-microbial peptides (AMPs)

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of the innate immune response found among all classes of life.
Fundamental differences exist between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells that may represent targets for antimicrobial peptides.
These peptides are potent, broad spectrum antibiotics which demonstrate potential as novel therapeutic agents.
Antimicrobial peptides have been demonstrated to kill Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria, enveloped viruses, fungi and even transformed or cancerous cells.

Bacterium

A bacterium is the singular form of the plural word “bacteria”.
Bacteria are a type of biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms.
A bacterium contains DNA in the cytoplasm in the form of a chromosome.

The bacterium tops the World Health Organisation’s list of threats.
It urgently needs new antibiotics because it is “remarkably adept at developing drug resistance”.
It is among the six species responsible for most infections in hospitals and health care centres.

Researchers from IISc. used a bioinformatics approach to design a new short protein (peptide) called Omega76 that can kill A. baumannii by breaking down its cell membrane.
Infected mice treated with Omega76 had much better survival rates.
It is also found that high doses of Omega76 given for prolonged periods did not produce any toxic effects.
It is safe and effective.
The significance of A. baumannii infection was not sufficiently understood earlier. It was regarded as just another bug in the environment. It has now become a major threat, especially in intensive care units.
Another drug called ‘colistin’, which is considered the last hope for multidrug-resistant infections, has been found to cause severe kidney damage.
While standard drugs act by “blocking specific pathways or processes in bacterial cells,” bacteria can evolve to gain resistance against such drugs.
Anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) actually punch holes in the bacterial cell membrane. The chances of drug resistance are much lower because they act by multiple ways and cause actual physical damage.

The researchers plan to improve its design further and explore clinical uses.

IISc is a public institute for research and higher education in science, engineering, design, and management.
Located in Bangalore, India, IISc was established in 1909 with active support from Jamsetji Tata and Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV and thus is also locally known as the “Tata Institute”.
It was granted the Deemed University status in 1958.

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