Genetics and Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic resistance has been a problem around the world for several years now. While amazing medical research is happening around the country, a study from Canada was recently published in Scientific Reports that brings new hope for dealing with antibiotic resistance. The worsening problem of antibiotic resistance is more profound than ever, but researchers from Montreal have found a way to block the transfer of drug-resistant genes.

Researchers Bastien Casu, Tarun Arya, Benoit Bessette, and Christian Baron from the Université de Montréal’s (UdeM) Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine started studying the spread of antibiotic resistant genes in hospitals about four years ago. What they discovered is that the drug resistant genes are coded on plasmids, DNA fragments found in bacteria or yeast, that transfer between bacteria. The plasmids carry useful information for bacteria, especially when the genes encode proteins which make the bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

An essential component of the plasmid transfer mechanism is the protein TraE. The UdeM researchers used X-ray crystallography to discover where drug resistant chemicals were binding to TraE. This information allowed researchers to develop more potent chemicals that could prevent the transfer of the antibiotic resistant, gene-carrying plasmids. The binding site was TraE’s “soft spot” and by removing its ability to bind with drug resistant chemicals, researchers removed its ability to transfer plasmids that had been coded with drug resistant genes.

Baron and his fellow researchers are hopeful that their work on TraE will be used to discover more ways to stop the transfer of resistant genes. By learning the molecular makeup of TraE and how it functions, researchers now know how to stop it from facilitating the transfer of drug resistant genes. Baron and his colleagues are continuing their research with UdeM’s Institut de reserche en immunologie et cancérologie to apply their approach to other bacteria that cause disease and create powerful inhibitors of antibiotic gene resistance.

The international president of Doctors Without Borders, Joanne Lui, has called drug resistance a “tsunami” and believes that “the day we can’t treat infections with antibiotics is coming”. Scientists predict that by 2050, 50 million people will die from antibiotic resistant infections. While the study from Baron and his colleagues at UdeM doesn’t resolve the issue, it does provide hope. Scientists all over the world have mobilized against this drug-resistant phenomenon and the recent findings from this study prove they are making great progress.

Although Lifecycle Biotechnologies wasn’t directly involved in this study, products like our albumin, which is used in drug delivery to transport antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, is used in this type of research all the time. Lifecycle is proud to be a part of this type of industry-advancing research. We understand the critical role lifesaving and life-enhancing medical products play in our world every day. To learn more about our products and services and how we can work with you, contact us today.