A new approach to killing C. difficile that silences key bacterial genes while sparing other bacteria may provide a new way to treat the most common hospital-acquired bacterial infection in the United States, according to researchers.
A new approach to killing C. difficile that silences key bacterial genes while sparing other bacteria may provide a new way to treat the most common hospital-acquired bacterial infection in the United States, according to researchers.
While conventional antibiotics treat bacterial infections, they can also cause a condition in the colon called C. difficile infection, due to the drug killing both good and bad bacteria in the gut.
In a lab, researchers created three new antibiotics that kill C. difficile by preventing the expression of bacterial genes that are important for its survival. This approach — called antisense therapy — allows the drug to kill only C. difficile, unlike many antibiotics that kill multiple forms of bacteria.
“We were able to show that these drugs can zero in on and kill C. difficile bacteria while leaving other bacteria alone,” said Arun Sharma, associate professor of pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine. “We’re still working to refine these drugs and make them even better, with the eventual goal of testing them clinically.”
Read more at Penn State
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