Front Microbiol: New method improves bacteria's sensitivity to antibiotics.

AUGUST 14, 2020 /--- In a recent study, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Singapore-based research company, the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), discovered a new way to reverse the antibiotic resistance of certain bacteria using hydrogen sulfide (H2S).
growing antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to the world, with 10 million deaths expected each year by 2050 if no action is taken.
World Health Organization has warned that drug-resistant diseases could force up to 24 million people into extreme poverty and cause catastrophic damage to the world economy by 2030.
(Photo source: www.pixabay.com) In most of the bacteria studied, endo endo-H2S has shown resistance to antibiotics, so H2S is considered a universal defense mechanism against antibiotics.
a team from the interdisciplinary team of smart antimicrobial resistance tested the theory by adding a compound releasing H2S to Baumann's bacteria, a pathogenic bacteria that cannot produce H2S on its own.
found that exogenous H2S does not cause antibiotic tolerance, but makes Baumann's bacteria sensitive to a variety of antibiotics.
can even reverse Baumann's resistance to Gythromycin, a very common antibiotic used to treat multiple types of infections.
results were published in the recent journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
Wilfried Moreira, lead researcher at SMART's AMR IRG and lead author of the paper, said: "So far hydrogen sulfide has been considered a common bacterial defense against antibiotics.
the first time that hydrogen sulfide can actually increase sensitivity to antibiotics and even reverse resistance to naturally occurring bacteria.
"Although the study focused on the effects of exogenetic H2S on Baumann's bacteria, scientists believe the results will be validated in all non-naturally occurring H2S bacteria."
" Baumann Bacillus is a vital antibiotic-resistant pathogen that poses a great threat to human health.
our study found a way to make deadly bacteria and other similar bacteria more sensitive to antibiotics, which could provide a breakthrough in treating many drug-resistant infections.
team plans to conduct further research to validate exciting findings in preclinical infection models and extend them to other bacteria that do not produce H2S.
(bioon.com) Source: New way to make bacteria more sensitive to antibiotics Discovered Source: Say Yong Ng, Kai Xun Ong, Smitha Thamarath Surendran, Ameya Sinha, Joey Jia Hui Lai, Jacqueline Chen, Jiaqi Liang, Leona Kwan Sing Tay, Liang Cui, Hooi Linn Loo, Peiying Ho, Jongyon Han, Wilfried Moreira. Hydrogen Sulfide Sensitizes Acinetobacter baumannii to Killing by Antibiotics. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2020; 11 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01875.