"Antibiotics are amazing drugs, and they have saved countless lives since their discovery more than 80 years ago," says Dr. Anne-Marie Krachler, from the University of Texas Health Science Center and senior author on the new study. "But there is a challenge – the challenge of antibiotic resistance that has made many antibiotics ineffective. A material that targets virulence instead of killing bacteria could be a way to treat infections that are resistant to antibiotics."
The researchers may have found such a material in the form of a newly developed adhesion inhibitor molecule called Multivalent Adhesion Molecule 7 (MAM7). It works by hampering the activity of adhesive molecules that certain types of bacteria use to bind to cells and kickstart infections.
NewAtlas article: newatlas.com/blinded-superb...
Nature article: nature.com/articles/srep39341
Neil
Photo: Nature's artwork; borer tracks on bark