Antibiotic resistance is a major global health problem, killing 4.95 million people in 2019 and expected to kill 10 million people annually by 2050. options for bacterial infections.
The most commonly isolated bacterial species from wounds are Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas, all of which have low intrinsic resistance to penicillin, ampicillin and cephalosporins.
Researchers have developed a new combination therapy that combines the anticancer drug mitoxantrone (MTX) with the antibiotic vancomycin to treat bacteria resistant to vancomycin, also known as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, or VRE. The therapy targets both VRE and the host, stimulating the host’s immune system to more effectively eliminate bacterial infections and accelerate wound healing.
Scientists from the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) interdisciplinary research group of Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, led the research in collaboration with Singapore Center for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, MIT, and the University of Geneva.
Due to growing antibiotic resistance, VRE is a “hard to kill” bacteria that can cause serious infections, such as bloodstream, urinary tract, and wound infections related to catheters or surgical procedures.
VRE infections are difficult to treat because the bacteria are resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat endocarditis, skin, stomach and intestinal infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. Other commonly used antibiotics. In 2019 alone, 4.95 million people died from an infection related to or attributable to antimicrobial resistance, making antimicrobial resistance a serious global health problem.
Suppose immediate and coordinated action is not taken to avert a potential drug resistance crisis. In that case, the Asia-Pacific region will be responsible for 47 percent of AMR-related deaths worldwide by 2050. and innovative approaches to treating bacterial infections.
The researchers investigated the effectiveness and antibacterial activity of MTX against VRE in vitro and in vivo. In combination with vancomycin, MTX was found to inhibit VRE growth more effectively. A new study found that MTX promoted wound healing by increasing macrophages’ ability to fight VRE infections and recruit more immune cells to the site of infection.
Jianzhu Chen, a professor of biology at MIT, and Guangan Hu, a visiting professor at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, are co-authors of a paper on the study.
The interdisciplinary research group AMR addresses the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance through translational research and entrepreneurship. They plan to attack AMR head-on by developing numerous sophisticated and disruptive methods to recognize, target and treat drug-resistant microbial diseases.
They will use the talent and convergent technologies available in Singapore and MIT. Their mission is to provide innovative, comprehensive solutions for Singapore and the world through solid scientific and clinical collaboration.
Magazine reference:
- Ronni AG da Silva, Jun Jie Wong, etal. Mitoxantrone targets both host and bacteria to overcome vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus faecalis. Scientific progress. 10.1126/sciadv.add9280
