(Press-News.org) CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University and other institutions today announced the successful use of a new type of antibacterial agent called a PPMO, which appears to function as well or better than an antibiotic, but may be more precise and also solve problems with antibiotic resistance.
In animal studies, one form of PPMO showed significant control of two strains of Acinetobacter, a group of bacteria of global concern that has caused significant mortality among military personnel serving in Middle East combat.
The new PPMOs offer a fundamentally different attack on bacterial infection, researchers say.
They specifically target the underlying genes of a bacterium, whereas conventional antibiotics just disrupt its cellular function and often have broader, unwanted impacts. As they are further developed, PPMOs should offer a completely different and more precise approach to managing bacterial infection, or conceptually almost any disease that has an underlying genetic component.
The findings were published today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, by researchers from OSU, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Sarepta, Inc., a Corvallis, Ore., firm.
"The mechanism that PPMOs use to kill bacteria is revolutionary," said Bruce Geller, a professor of microbiology in the OSU College of Science and lead author on the study. "They can be synthesized to target almost any gene, and in that way avoid the development of antibiotic resistance and the negative impacts sometimes associated with broad-spectrum antibiotics.
"Molecular medicine," Geller said, "is the way of the future."
PPMO stands for a peptide-conjugated phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer – a synthetic analog of DNA or RNA that has the ability to silence the expression of specific genes. Compared to conventional antibiotics, which are often found in nature, PPMOs are completely synthesized in the laboratory with a specific genetic target in mind.
In animal laboratory tests against A. baumannii, one of the most dangerous Acinetobacter strains, PPMOs were far more powerful than some conventional antibiotics like ampicillin, and comparable to the strongest antibiotics available today. They were also effective in cases where the bacteria were resistant to antibiotics.
PPMOs have not yet been tested in humans. However, their basic chemical structure, the PMO, has been extensively tested in humans and found safe. Although the addition of the peptide to the PPMO poses an uncertain risk of toxicity, the potency of PPMOs reduces the risk while greatly improving delivery of the PMOs into bacterial cells, Geller said.
Geller said research is being done with Acinetobacter in part because this pathogen has become a huge global problem, and is often spread in hospitals. It can cause respiratory infection, sepsis, and is a special concern to anyone whose immune system is compromised. Wounds in military battle conditions have led to numerous cases in veterans, and A. baumannii is now resistant to many antibiotics. "Urgent new approaches to therapeutics are needed," the scientists said in their report.
Continued research and eventually human clinical trials will be required before the new compounds are available for health care, the researchers said. This and continued studies have been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the other collaborators and the N.L. Tartar fund.
###
Editor's Note: A scanning electron microscope image of A. baumannii is available online (please provide image credit as indicated at web site): http://bit.ly/GztejR
Beyond antibiotics: 'PPMOs' offer new approach to bacterial infection, other diseases
2013-10-15
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Sisters serve as confidants, sources of support and mentors during intimate conversations
2013-10-15
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Adolescence can be an impressionable time for girls as they begin forming ideas about dating and sexuality. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that sisters often take on key roles of confidants, sources of support and mentors during conversations about romantic relationships. Sisters may be helpful in health education efforts to promote safe-sex practices and healthy romantic relationships.
"Our findings indicate that sisters play important roles as adolescent girls form ideas about romantic relationships and sexuality," said Sarah Killoren, ...
Creating matter that never existed before: American Chemical Society Prized Science video
2013-10-15
Imagine creating something completely new — something improbable and provocative that has never existed on Earth before. This kind of unconventional science that defies long-standing assumptions in chemistry is the topic of the latest episode of a popular video series from the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. The videos are available at http://www.acs.org/PrizedScience and on DVD.
Titled Prized Science: Chemical Detectives: Preparing New Matter in the Universe, the third episode of the 2013 series features the research of Gregory ...
How do consumers create markets? The case of the minimoto
2013-10-15
Consumers have the power to do more than just respond to products that companies put on the market; they can actually change and develop new markets, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Firm-centric models of market development view consumers as relatively passive, downstream actors, whose agency and ability to affect a market are limited to decision making in a realm of choices controlled by marketing institutions," write authors Diane M. Martin and John W. Schouten (both Aalto University). "Recently consumer culture scholars have explored ...
When time has a will of its own, powerless consumers don't have the will to wait
2013-10-15
When consumers assign human characteristics to time, it makes it more difficult to wait for things (especially for people who don't feel powerful), according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Consumers often choose between a readily available product and a version of the product that is superior, but requires a wait time. (Should I buy an iPad now or wait for the newer version?) If wait time is perceived to have human mental states such as a will and intentions, consumers may show less patience," write authors Frank May and Ashwani Monga (both University ...
Size matters in the giant magnetoresistance effect in semiconductors
2013-10-15
In a paper appearing in Nature's Scientific Reports, Dr. Ramesh Mani, professor of physics and astronomy at Georgia State University, reports that a giant magnetoresistance effect depends on the physical size of the device in the GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor system.
Giant magnetoresistance indicates a large change in the electrical resistance with the application of a small magnetic field. This effect can be used to detect the presence of small magnetic fields. Magnetic sensors based on this concept are used to read out information stored in magnetic particles on rotating ...
Johns Hopkins-led study shows increased life expectancy among family caregivers
2013-10-15
Contradicting long-standing conventional wisdom, results of a Johns Hopkins-led analysis of data previously gathered on more than 3,000 family caregivers suggests that those who assist a chronically ill or disabled family member enjoy an 18 percent survival advantage compared to statistically matched non-caregivers.
In a report, published in the current online version of the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers found that providing care for a chronically ill or disabled family member not only fails to increase health risk, but also is associated with a nine-month ...
2013 Ocean Health Index shows food provision remains an area of great concern
2013-10-15
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– In the 2013 Ocean Health Index (OHI) –– an annual assessment of ocean health lead by Ben Halpern, a research associate at UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management –– scientists point to food provision as the factor that continues to require serious attention.
The OHI defines a healthy ocean as one that sustainably delivers a range of benefits to people now and in the future based on 10 diverse public goals. The 2013 score of 65 out ...
To live and learn: Making memories has to be a speedy business
2013-10-15
This news release is available in French. The brain is plastic - adapting to the hundreds of experiences in our daily lives by reorganizing pathways and making new connections between nerve cells. This plasticity requires that memories of new information and experiences are formed fast. So fast that the body has a special mechanism, unique to nerve cells, that enables memories to be made rapidly. In a new study from The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, The Neuro, McGill University with colleagues at the Université de Montréal, researchers have discovered ...
Embargoed news from Oct. 15, 2013 Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet
2013-10-15
1. President Taft's letters to his physician show emerging modern approach to treating obesity
Correspondence between President William H. Taft, one of the first public figures in U.S. history to be defined popularly in terms of his obesity, and his physician, Nathaniel E. Yorke-Davies, provide a rare glimpse into the history of the obesity experience in the United States. At 314 pounds, Taft wrote to English diet expert Yorke-Davies because he thought weight loss could alleviate uncomfortable symptoms (heartburn, indigestion, fatigue, and restless sleep) and help him ...
Hospital report cards for hospital-acquired bedsores: How good are the grades?
2013-10-15
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The data Medicare uses to publicly report hospital rates of patients developing pressure ulcers (or bedsores) is not an accurate source for comparing hospitals on how well they prevent the condition, says a new University of Michigan study.
Bedsores are skin wounds often caused by pressure against the skin when staying in one position for too long. They are among many common hospital-acquired conditions Medicare's Hospital Compare website reports in an effort to help consumers compare the quality of their care at different hospitals.
Hospital bedsore ...