Science and Technology Daily (Reporter Zhang Jiaxin) According to a paper recently published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum, researchers at Northwestern University in the United States successfully induced a deadly pathogen to self-destruct from the inside out. The research marks a key step toward treating antibiotic-resistant infections.
The growing crisis of antibiotic resistance has prompted researchers to search for alternatives to antibiotics. To explore potential phage therapies, researchers will either pinpoint existing viruses or modify existing viruses to selectively target bacterial infections without damaging other parts of the body.
This time, the researchers decided to focus on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the five deadliest pathogens in humans. The researchers purified DNA from several phages of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. They then used electroporation to poke temporary holes in the bacteria's outer cells. Through these holes, phage DNA enters the bacteria to simulate the infection process.
In some cases, bacteria recognize DNA as foreign and shred it to protect themselves. But after using synthetic biology to optimize the process, the researchers were able to eliminate the bacteria's antiviral self-defense mechanism. Thus, the DNA successfully carries the information into the cell, producing virus particles that kill the bacteria. Throughout the process, billions of phages burst out of the bacteria and kill them.
Next, the researchers plan to modify the phage DNA to optimize potential treatments. Ideally, scientists could one day tailor a phage and design "a la carte" therapies with precise characteristics to treat individual infections.