Scientists have discovered a previously unknown function of the immune system that could pave the way for new antibiotics.
The discovery, conducted by researchers in Israel, revealed that a part of the body known for protein recycling has a hidden capacity to release powerful chemicals that kill bacteria.
BBB informs that the advance, focused on the proteasome, a small structure that is found in each cell, defies the existing knowledge of how the body defends against the infection.
While it has been understood that their main role break down old proteins for reuse, the study, published in Nature, shows that it can detect bacterial infections and transform into a weapon against them.
Instead of simply recycling proteins, proteasome reuse them in molecules that attack bacteria decomposing their external layers.
Professor Yifat Merbl, from the Weizmann Institute of Science, described the finding as “really exciting” and a revelation of a “novel mechanism of immunity” that operates throughout the body. He pointed out that the discovery introduces a completely new category of potential natural antibiotics.
The research team used what they called “diving in the garbage container” to identify these antibiotic molecules, testing them in bacteria in the laboratory and in mice that suffer from pneumonia and sepsis.
The results, they said, were comparable to some existing antibiotics. In addition, when the proteasome was disabled in laboratory cultivated cells, bacteria such as Salmonella could infect them much more easily.
Professor Daniel Davis, immunologist at Imperial College London, described the findings as “extremely provocative and very interesting”, emphasizing that the study challenges the way in which scientists understand the body's ability to combat infection.
“What is really exciting of this is that it is a totally unbeatable process by which anti-germ molecules are made within our cells, it feels deeply important and surprising,” he said.
However, he warned that while the discovery is promising, more evidence is needed before it can translate to new antibiotics.
The discovery comes at a crucial moment, since antibiotic -resistant infections are increasing, claiming that it is estimated that one million lives annually. Despite the urgent need for new antibiotics, research in the field has stagnated.
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In this context, some scientists see the new findings as a rare source of optimism. Dr. Lindsey Edwards, Professor of Microbiology at King's College London, described the discovery as a “gold mine potential” for antibiotics.
“In previous years he has been digging land [to find new antibiotics]It is wild that is something we have within us, but it is reduced to having technology to be able to detect these things, ”he said.
He also suggested that, since these molecules already exist naturally in the human body, developing them in drugs can raise less security problems.
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