A collaborative study between the National Physical Laboratory and the University College London has revealed that a protein found in breast milk can aid scientists in the fight against antibiotic resistance. Lactoferrin, the protein in question, plays a key role in helping infants with antimicrobial protection by killing bacteria, fungi and viruses.
The team zeroed in on a tiny fragment of lactoferrin that is known to give it the majority of its antimicrobial properties and predicted that copies of this fragment likely gather in synchrony in order to fight bacterial cells by targeting and attacking microbial membranes. They then re-engineered this fragment into a building block capable of self-assembling into virus-like capsules in order to target bacteria effectively. Not only did these capsules successfully bind to bacteria, they were also able to puncture membranes with a great deal of precision.
"To monitor the activity of the capsules in real time, we developed a high-speed measurement platform using atomic force microscopy," Hasan Alkassem, who participated in the research, said in a press release. "The challenge was not just to see the capsules, but to follow their attack on bacterial membranes. The result was striking: the capsules acted as projectiles porating the membranes with bullet speed and efficiency."
Despite their ability to puncture bacterial membranes, these capsules did not harm surrounding human cells, instead infecting them like viruses and releasing their genetics in order to multiply and produce. However, using drugs or therapeutic genes in the place of viral genes can make this a beneficial process and help cure diseases such as cancer and cystic fibrosis. To test this, team inserted beneficial genes into the capsules and found that they could effectively manipulate human genes in a positive manner.
The findings were published in the Dec. 21 issue of Chemical Science.
