Researchers have found a new means of communication that bacteria use to help each other build resistance against antibiotics.
Burkholderia cenocepacia (B. cenocepacia) is a harmful environmental bacterium that causes infection among people who have weak immune systems. The Immune systems become weak when bacteria and virus build resistance to antibodies naturally present or injected into the body. Researchers have found that bacteria such as B. cenocepacia communicate with each other to build resistance against most antibodies.
"These findings reveal a new mechanism of antimicrobial resistance based on chemical communication among bacterial cells by small molecules that protect against the effect of antibiotics," said Dr. Miguel Valvano, adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, currently a Professor and Chair at Queen's University Belfast, in a statement. "This paves the way to design novel drugs to block the effects of these chemicals, thus effectively reducing the burden of antimicrobial resistance."
The cells of a bacterium that have built stronger resistance to antibiotic treatments create molecules that they share with the weaker cells, making them more resistant to antibiotics as well. The molecules are created from modified amino acids. This mechanism is also seen in bacteria other than B. cenocepacia like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and E. coli.
Omar El-Halfawy, first author of the study, revealed that the molecules can be used by nearly all bacteria with only few exceptions. He also said that during the study, he and his team found another way in which B. cenocepacia communicate to protect each other. They do so by "releasing small proteins to mop up, and bind to lethal antibiotics," reducing its effectiveness, Halfawy explained.
The findings of the study are published in PLOS ONE.
