Antibiotic
resistance has become more prevalent in the recent years, resulting in reduced
effectiveness of antibiotics in the treatment of microorganisms. A common cause of antibiotic resistance is the
misuse or overuse of antibiotics by patients and/or physicians. I, as a patient
have misused antibiotics; a few years ago I had a sinus infection. I was
prescribed an antibiotic, cephalexin that was to be taken for one week.
However, after four days of the antibiotic making me feel sick I decided to
discontinue the antibiotic. I felt the antibiotic had served its purpose,
because my constant headache was gone. Therefore, the sinus infection was cured,
right? I couldn’t of been more wrong, the sinus infection came back a few weeks
later. Fortunately, I had refills on my antibiotic and continued to take the
antibiotic for the full one week. As a biology student and pharmacy technician,
I should of known better and accidentally contributed to antibiotic resistance. However, a new potential antibacterial agent is
on the rise that could eliminate antibiotic resistance. In the future this may
reduce the overuse and misuse of antibiotics as seen in healthcare settings.
According
to the study by Geller et al published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The results of the study displayed A.
lwoffii and A. baumannii are
vulnerable to peptide-conjugated phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers
(PPMO). The PPMO targeted specific genes in A.
lwoffi and A. baumannii, resulting in the death of the bacteria.
PPMO displayed to be a more efficient antibacterial agent and may be used in
the treatment of bacterial infections combating the antibiotic resistance.
In the
study, Acinetobacter was investigated
and consist of over 30 species. Acinetobacter can cause respiratory
infections, sepsis and infections in battle wounds of military personnel. Acinetobacter
is difficult to treat with the increased resistance to antibiotics. This
can result in morbidity and mortality in patients if the infection is left
untreated. A. lowoffi and A. baumanni are strains of Acinetobacter that have several genes
for antibiotic and toxin resistance. PPMO are unique and can fight antibiotic
resistance in A. lowoffi and A. baumanni strains. PPMO are
synthesized compared to traditional antibiotics that are found in nature. The
design for PPMO are to complementary bind messenger RNAs to specific genes
associated with viability. PPMO can be designed to target any gene of interest
reducing the development of antibiotic resistance.
The results are significant in displaying the effectiveness of PPMO as a
potential antibacterial agent. PPMO can be used to treat bacterial infections
that have become resistant. This could
improve quality of life for patients not responding to traditional antibiotics.
Having antibacterial agents that can combat antibiotic resistance will reducing
morbidity and mortality rates in patients with resistant infections.
Electronic microscope image of A.baumanni and its genome
References
Bruce L. Geller, Kimberly Marshall-Batty, Frederick J. Schnell, Mattie M. McKnight, Patrick L. Iversen, and David E. Greenberg. Gene-Silencing Antisense Oligomers Inhibit Acinetobacter Growth in Vitro and In Vivo. Journal of Infectious Diseases, October 2013
Oregon State University (2013, October 15). Beyond antibiotics: 'PPMOs' offer new approach to bacterial infection, other disease. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131015134922.htm
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