Our Gut Microbiomes may be Hiding Promising New Antibiotics

Bacteria are developing resistance to antibiotics more quickly than new drugs can be created, so scientists are exploring the human gut—a highly competitive environment with about 100 trillion microbes—to find potential components for combating diseases.

Researchers in the US examined the gut microbiomes of 1,773 individuals, analyzing 444,054 proteins that had been previously identified for their potential as antibiotics.

High Success Rate in Lab-Synthesized Proteins Suggests Gut Microbiome as a Rich Source for New Antibiotics

Out of the 78 most promising proteins that the team synthesized and tested in the lab, 70.5 percent were effective against microbes like bacteria. This indicates they could potentially be developed into antibiotics and suggests that our guts contain a diverse range of substances capable of combating harmful bacteria.

“Biology is viewed as a source of information,” says César de la Fuente, a bioengineer from the University of Pennsylvania.

“Everything can be seen as code. If we develop algorithms to analyze that code, we can significantly speed up the discovery of new antibiotics.”

Prevotellin-2 Shows Potent Antibacterial Effects Comparable to Leading Antibiotics

One of the most promising proteins identified, prevotellin-2, demonstrated antibacterial effects comparable to polymyxin B, a leading antibiotic used against infections resistant to multiple other drugs.

“This indicates that exploring the human microbiome for new and unique antimicrobial peptides is a promising direction for researchers, physicians, and especially for patients,” says Ami Bhatt, a physician-scientist at Stanford University.

While there is still much work to be done to turn these proteins into functional antibiotics, these initial findings are very encouraging—particularly if their effectiveness matches that of existing ‘last-resort‘ drugs.

The researchers also point out that the proteins discovered are structurally different from traditional antimicrobial molecules, potentially offering entirely new avenues for developing treatments against superbugs.

“Interestingly, these molecules have a different composition from what has typically been considered antimicrobial,” notes Marcelo Torres, a bioengineer at the University of Pennsylvania.

“The compounds we’ve identified represent a new class of antimicrobials, and their unique characteristics will help us broaden our understanding of antimicrobial sequences.”

Accelerating Antibiotic Discovery by Leveraging Naturally Existing Sources

Developing antibiotics from natural sources traditionally requires significant time and effort, which is why de la Fuente and his team are searching for antibiotic sources already present in nature that can be activated more quickly.

This search is critical, as antibiotic resistance is a rapidly growing issue, exacerbated by environmental factors, and has already contributed to millions of deaths. Scientists are tirelessly working to find solutions, but it’s a continuous battle to stay ahead of the evolving bacteria.

However, the findings from this research support the initial hypothesis: that the gut, being a competitive environment where organisms must constantly adapt to survive, may equip our microbiome with the ability to produce targeted drugs to combat other infections.

“It’s such a tough environment,” says de la Fuente.

“There are countless bacteria coexisting, but also competing against each other. Such an environment may encourage innovation.”

Read the original article on: Science Alert

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