Novel Non-Antibiotic Agents Against MRSA and Strep Infections
Date: 17.9.2012
Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has discovered novel antivirulence drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pyogenes, commonly referred to as strep, harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease. The promising discovery was presented this week at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.
Dr. Shoham identified a bacterial protein, known as AgrA, as the key molecule responsible for turning on the release of toxins. AgrA, however, needs to be activated to induce toxin production. His goal was to block the activation of AgrA with a drug, thus preventing the cascade of toxin release into the blood that can lead to serious infections throughout the body.
"It is possible to inhibit virulence of MRSA without killing the bacteria," continues Dr. Shoham. "Such antivirulence drugs may be used for prophylaxis or therapy by themselves or in combination with an antibiotic. Antivirulence therapy may resensitize bacteria to antibiotics that have become ineffective by themselves."
