Researchers from University of Illinois have come up with a novel way of developing antibiotics to fight malaria, potentially making the treatment of the disease less expensive.
Researchers from University of Illinois have come up with a novel way of developing antibiotics to fight malaria, potentially making the treatment of the disease less expensive.
The research team led by microbiology professor William Metcalf have developed a new way to mass-produce phosphonate compound (FR900098), made in nature by bacteria and are known to have antibiotic properties.
Malaria - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Prevention, Treatment
Malaria is caused by a parasite that enters blood through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is characterized by fever, vomiting, shivering, sweating and other symptoms.
Malaria is caused by a parasite that enters blood through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is characterized by fever, vomiting, shivering, sweating and other symptoms.
"Malaria is a problem in Third World countries that can least afford expensive medicines, and many antibiotics are expensive," said Metcalf.
Efforts are already underway by Metcalf's colleague, chemical engineering professor Huimin Zhao, to engineer E. coli strains to overproduce FR900098, which can then be harvested for medicine.
About Mosquito Diseases
Mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria, filaria, dengue, etc are common in places conducive of mosquito breeding. Swamps, ponds and stagnated drainage provide optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria, filaria, dengue, etc are common in places conducive of mosquito breeding. Swamps, ponds and stagnated drainage provide optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The need for new antibiotics is at an all-time high because multi-drug resistant bacteria are appearing even outside hospital settings.
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"In an infection, the chances are high that one in 10 million parasites in the patient's body will become resistant to a given drug," Metcalf said.
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Lab to Help Track and Control Tropical Diseases
Using state-of-the-art molecular and demographic methods, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health have established a new Gillings Innovation
Using state-of-the-art molecular and demographic methods, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health have established a new Gillings Innovation
Phosphonates work by disrupting biological pathways critical in developing drug resistence.
When the parasites that cause malaria were discovered by others to have a pathway that FR900098 could disrupt, researchers saw a way to put the compound to good use. That same biosynthetic pathway does not exist in animals.
Understanding these pathways "opens the door to finding other antibiotics in this class of compounds. The more we can understand about these pathways the better we can find unknown phosphonates with antibiotic properties," said Metcalf.
The results are reported in the August 25 issue of Chemistry and Biology.
Source-ANI
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