Sponging up bacterial infections

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a pretty scary thing, which is why researchers are working so hard to come up with new and creative ways to fight them off. Take for example nanosponges.

In a presentation from the Experimental Biology meeting in Chicago last month, researchers from the University of California in San Diego are testing the use of nanosponges (shown on the right in the figure below) to bind and inactivate toxins that are released from bacteria.  

IMAGE
Image Credit: Tamara Escajadillo, University of California, San Diego

Nanosponges are basically the membrane of red blood cells from which the contents have been removed. These red blood cell membranes are then engineered to have a core capable of soaking up toxins. In fact, these nanosponges were shown to reduce the severity of A Streptococcus infections. Toxins that are released by A Streptococcus create holes in the membranes of cells within our bodies, resulting in cell dysfunction or death. This is where the nanosponges come to the rescue. They can soak up and inactivate bacterial toxins and thereby reduce potential damage.

Sure this sounds great in a petri dish of cells, but what about in an animal? The team tested this and found that the nanosponges could reduce the severity of necrotizing fasciitis in mice with the disease. While this research is a long way from clinical trials, it is an outstanding start to thinking outside the box when it comes to treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.

Source:

American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) Eureka Alert press release.

More like this

Mesobuthus martensii; Image source: Wikimedia Commons, Ja   Scientists from Wuhan University in China have discovered compounds in scorpion venom that may be the next new treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria and potentially other antibiotic-resistant microbes…
Picture of a komodo dragon by CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Researchers studying komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) at George Mason University discovered 48 previously unknown peptides in their blood that might have antimicrobial properties. Their findings were published in the Journal…
Here is the 4th most popular post so far this year: Picture of a komodo dragon by CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Researchers studying komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) at George Mason University discovered 48 previously unknown peptides in their blood that might have antimicrobial…
A pig flying at the Minnesota state fair. Picture by TCS. I've been involved in a few discussions of late on science-based sites around yon web on antibiotic resistance and agriculture--specifically, the campaign to get fast food giant Subway to stop using meat raised on antibiotics, and a…

Have the nanosponges been tested on any other disease, except necrotizing faciitis?

By Missy Barnes (not verified) on 18 Aug 2017 #permalink