Resistant bacteria steal our fat
Multiresistant staphylococci have a clever defence against our antibiotics, according to scientists from the Michigan State University. They steal our fat.
The bacterium, which is also known as MRSA, is very common and usually quite harmless, but it causes problems in hospitals. People who are already weak due to surgery, might find their lives at risk if they are infected with MRSA. Today, the bacteria can only be combated by means of special antibiotics, which doctors use very cautiously to make sure that the bacteria will not become resistant to these drugs as well.
Most antibiotics influence bacteria by preventing them from producing the fats, that they need in their cell membranes. The result is that the bacteria break down and die. However, the attack is lost on MRSA, because the bacteria does not need to produce its own fats, rather it is able to absorb fats from our blood and use it to build its cell membrane. Cholesterol has a high content of fatty acids, of which the bacterium can make use. The scientists now aim to develop drugs focused on the genes that allow MRSA to steal the fats from our blood. If they manage to obstruct the genes, the bacterium will become vulnerable to many of the types of antibiotics, which presently have no effect on it.