Scientists have discovered a new part of the immune system which provides researchers with a new place to look for antibiotics, according to a new study. Research published in the journal Nature says the development could help tackle the growing problem of superbugs which resist existing drugs.
According to the study, researchers in Israel discovered a part of the body known to recycle proteins can also generate bacteria-killing chemicals. The authors of the study said the discovery “could provide an untapped source of natural antibiotics for biotechnological applications and therapeutic interventions in infectious diseases and immunocompromised conditions”.
Professor Yifat Merbl, from the Weizmann Institute of Science, told the BBC : “This is really exciting, because we never knew that this was happening. We discovered a novel mechanism of immunity that is allowing us to have a defense against bacterial infection.
“It’s happening throughout our body in all the cells, and generates a whole new class of potential natural antibiotics.”
The research focused on a specific part of the cell called the proteasome, which carves old proteins into smaller chunks so they can be recycled to make new ones. Through a series of experiments, scientists discovered the proteasome can also detect when a cell has been infected by bacteria.
It then reacts by changing structure and role, transforming old proteins into weapons that can pierce the outer layer of bacteria to kill them. Dr Lindsey Edwards, a senior lecturer in microbiology at King’s College London, described the discovery as a “potential goldmine”.
She told the BBC: “It’s a potential goldmine for new antibiotics, that’s quite exciting. In previous years it’s been digging up soil (to find new antibiotics), it is wild that it’s something we have within us, but comes down to having the technology to be able to detect these things.”