New antibiotics make the risk of resistance almost completely disappear

Researchers from Chicago could be on the verge of one of the most important medical breakthroughs in recent years: they have developed an antibiotic to which it is almost impossible for bacteria to develop resistance.

Two points of attack

Since the discovery of penicillin, antibiotics have been one of the most important weapons in the fight against various bacterial infectious diseases. However, it often happens that a random mutation occurs in bacterial strains, which then makes the organism immune to the very target of the antibiotic. This has now led to resistant germs becoming a serious problem in hospitals. A study by scientists at the University of Illinois now offers hope. The researchers presented in their paper published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, a new antibiotic called macrolone.

This attacks bacteria through two different cellular mechanisms – by disrupting protein production and by damaging the DNA structure. Either method would be fatal to the bacteria. If a mutation were to accidentally create resistance to one of the attacks, the second would still cause the microorganism to die – and the resistance mutation with it.

Statistically almost impossible

Theoretically, it is of course possible that two mutations could occur in parallel, which would simultaneously produce resistance to both attack vectors. However, this is extremely unlikely. The researchers estimate that the chance of resistant strains to macrolones occurring is 100 million times lower than is the case with conventional antibiotics.

“By essentially hitting two targets with the same concentration, you have the advantage of making it almost impossible for the bacteria to simply develop a simple genetic defense,” said study co-author Yury Polikanov. Macrolones are a group of synthetic drugs that can be combined in various ways to fight different types of pathogens. In the future, medicine will therefore have a whole new arsenal of weapons at its disposal instead of just one active ingredient.