{"id":2965,"date":"2021-06-21T11:30:47","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T10:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/?p=2965"},"modified":"2021-06-07T17:32:45","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T16:32:45","slug":"research-reveals-human-immune-system-reduces-potency-of-antibiotics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/2021\/06\/21\/research-reveals-human-immune-system-reduces-potency-of-antibiotics\/","title":{"rendered":"Research reveals human immune system reduces potency of antibiotics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research from the\u00a0School of Biosciences<\/a>\u00a0has revealed that a molecule produced by the human immune system can severely diminish the potency of certain antibiotics.<\/p>\n

This may explain why antibiotics effective in laboratory settings can be less effective at clearing infections in humans.<\/p>\n

The research findings, which have been published in the journal\u00a0Archives of Microbiology<\/em><\/a>, reveal that nitric oxide, a molecule produced by our immune systems, can render aminoglycoside antibiotics ineffective when used against\u00a0E. coli\u00a0<\/em>strains isolated from human infections.<\/p>\n

E. coli<\/em>\u00a0causes life-threatening infections including sepsis, bladder infections, kidney failure, and dysentery. Whilst the human immune system produces nitric oxide to kill invading bacteria, this study reports that nitric oxide can also undermine the function of antibiotics that are used as first-line agents to treat infections caused by drug-resistant\u00a0E. coli<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It is expected that these findings will greatly influence the choice and dose of antibiotic treatments prescribed by medical professionals.<\/p>\n

Corresponding author\u00a0Dr Mark Shepherd, Senior Lecturer in Microbial Biochemistry<\/a>\u00a0at Kent, said: \u2018This work highlights the urgent need for a better understanding of how the human immune system can profoundly affect the activity of antibiotics, which is of great importance for future therapies to treat multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.\u2019<\/p>\n

The paper \u2018Nitric oxide (NO) elicits aminoglycoside tolerance in\u00a0Escherichia coli\u00a0<\/em>but antibiotic resistance gene carriage and NO sensitivity have not co-evolved<\/a>\u2019 (University of Kent: Cl\u00e1udia A. Ribeiro, Luke A. Rahman, Louis G. Holmes, Ayrianna M. Woody, Calum M. Webster, Taylor I. Monaghan, Dr Gary K. Robinson, Professor Fritz A. M\u00fchlschlegel, Dr Mark Shepherd; University of Salford: Dr Ian B. Goodhead) is\u00a0published in the\u00a0Archives of Microbiology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00203-021-02245-2<\/a><\/p>\n