(Press-News.org) Contact information: Andrea Burgess
andrea.burgess@uci.edu
949-824-6282
University of California - Irvine
UCI, Northwestern researchers create compounds that boost antibiotics' effectiveness
Inhibitors could form basis of new treatments for such diseases as MRSA, anthrax
Irvine, Calif., Nov. 25, 2013 — Inhibitor compounds developed by UC Irvine structural biologists and Northwestern University chemists have been shown to bolster the ability of antibiotics to treat deadly bacterial diseases such as MRSA and anthrax.
The discovery by UC Irvine's Thomas Poulos and Northwestern's Richard Silverman builds on previous work in which they created compounds that inhibit an enzyme called neuronal nitric oxide synthase. These have demonstrated the potential to treat neurodegenerative diseases by blocking overproduction of cell-killing nitric oxide within neurons.
Now the researchers are learning that the compounds may have another important function. After Poulos and Silverman read a study suggesting that nitric oxide synthase helped pathogenic bacteria resist antibiotics, their laboratory teams paired the inhibitor compounds with currently used antibiotics to see if they could suppress NOS – and increase the antibiotics' effectiveness.
"We found that NOS inhibitors were extremely successful at inhibiting neurodegeneration in an animal model, and if they could be successful combating other diseases, we wanted to identify that as quickly as possible to help other people," said Poulos, Chancellor's Professor of biochemistry, chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at UC Irvine.
The researchers tested their compounds on Bacillus subtilis, nonpathogenic bacteria very similar to Staphylococcus aureus (known as MRSA), and Bacillus anthracis, which causes anthrax. Bacteria treated with the NOS inhibitors and an antibiotic were killed off more efficiently and completely than bacteria treated with only an antibiotic. The scientists then compared the three-dimensional structure of the inhibitors bound to the bacterial NOS with those bound to the neuronal NOS and determined that they bonded quite differently.
"Now that we know which region of the NOS to target, we should to be able to develop compounds that selectively bind to bacterial NOS," Poulos said, adding that his team will also need to try out those compounds in animal models.
###
The study, published in the Oct. 31 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was supported by National Institutes of Health grants GM57353 (to Poulos) and GM49725 (to Silverman).
About the University of California, Irvine: Located in coastal Orange County, near a thriving employment hub in one of the nation's safest cities, UC Irvine was founded in 1965. One of only 62 members of the Association of American Universities, it's ranked first among U.S. universities under 50 years old by the London-based Times Higher Education. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UC Irvine has more than 28,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It's Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $4.3 billion annually to the local economy.
Media access: UC Irvine maintains an online directory of faculty available as experts to the media at today.uci.edu/resources/experts.php. Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photo available at
http://news.uci.edu/press-releases/uci-northwestern-researchers-create-compounds-that-boost-antibiotics-effectiveness/
Contact:
Andrea Burgess
949-824-6282
andrea.burgess@uci.edu
UCI, Northwestern researchers create compounds that boost antibiotics' effectiveness
Inhibitors could form basis of new treatments for such diseases as MRSA, anthrax
2013-11-25
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
NASA catches Tropical Cyclone Lehar over the Andaman Islands
2013-11-25
NASA catches Tropical Cyclone Lehar over the Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands received an unwelcome visitor on November 25 in the form of Tropical Cyclone Lehar. NASA's Terra satellite captured a picture of the visitor as it was making its exit from the islands ...
First large-scale PheWAS study using EMRs provides systematic method to discover new disease association
2013-11-25
First large-scale PheWAS study using EMRs provides systematic method to discover new disease association
VIDEO:
Vanderbilt University Medical ...
Alzheimer's and vascular changes in the neck
2013-11-25
Alzheimer's and vascular changes in the neck
Buffalo, N.Y. – Studies on Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia have long focused on what's happening inside the brain. Now an international research team studying Alzheimer's and mild cognitive impairment ...
Health Affairs Web First articles look at health care across many countries
2013-11-25
Health Affairs Web First articles look at health care across many countries
Bethesda, MD – Shanghai's health care reforms as well as the findings of an eleven-country health care survey are published as Web First articles on Health Affairs' web site in November.
Shanghai's ...
A new, flying jellyfish-like machine
2013-11-25
A new, flying jellyfish-like machine
Researchers present simplified method of robotic flight at APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting in Pittsburgh
Gene-silencing study finds new targets for Parkinson's disease
2013-11-25
Gene-silencing study finds new targets for Parkinson's disease
NIH study sheds light on treatment of related disorders
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have used RNA interference (RNAi) technology ...
Decay used to construct quantum information
2013-11-25
Decay used to construct quantum information
Usually, when researchers work with quantum information, they do everything they can to prevent the information from decaying. Now researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute, among others, have flipped ...
Diamond 'flaws' pave way for nanoscale MRI
2013-11-25
Diamond 'flaws' pave way for nanoscale MRI
By exploiting flaws in miniscule diamond fragments, researchers say they have achieved enough coherence of the magnetic moment inherent in these defects to harness their potential for precise quantum sensors in a ...
NIST demonstrates how losing information can benefit quantum computing
2013-11-25
NIST demonstrates how losing information can benefit quantum computing
BOULDER, Colo -- Suggesting that quantum computers might benefit from losing some data, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have entangled—linked ...
How living cells solved a needle in a haystack problem to produce electrical signals
2013-11-25
How living cells solved a needle in a haystack problem to produce electrical signals
Filtered from a vast sodium sea, more than 1 million calcium ions per second gush through our cells' pores to generate charges
Scientists have figured out how calcium channels – the infinitesimal ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Researchers improve chemical reaction that underpins products from foods to fuels
Texas Tech to develop semiconductor power devices through $6 million grant
Novel genomic screening tool enables precision reverse-engineering of genetic programming in cells
Hot Schrödinger cat states created
How cells repair their power plants
Oxygen is running low in inland waters—and humans are to blame
ACP’s Best Practice Advice addresses use of cannabis, cannabinoids for chronic noncancer pain
Beyond photorespiration: A systematic approach to unlocking enhanced plant productivity
How a small number of mutations can fuel outbreaks of western equine encephalitis virus
Exposure to wildfire smoke linked with worsening mental health conditions
Research uncovers hidden spread of one of the most common hospital-associated infections
Many older adults send their doctors portal messages, but who pays?
Fine particulate matter from 2020 California wildfires and mental health–related emergency department visits
Gender inequity in institutional leadership roles in US academic medical centers
Pancreatic cells ‘remember’ epigenetic precancerous marks without genetic sequence mutations
Rare combination of ovarian tumors found in one patient
AI-driven clinical recommendations may aid physician decision making to improve quality of care
Artificial intelligence has potential to aid physician decisions during virtual urgent care
ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine present breaking scientific news at ACP’s Internal Medicine Meeting 2025
New study reveals polymers with flawed fillers boost heat transfer in plastics
Signs identified that precede sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in young people
Discovery of bacteria's defence against viruses becomes a piece of the puzzle against resistance
Pre-eclampsia is associated with earlier onset and higher incidence of cardiovascular risk factors
Warwick astronomers discover doomed pair of spiralling stars on our cosmic doorstep
Soil conditions significantly increase rainfall in world’s megastorm hotspots
NK cells complexed with bispecific antibody yield high response rates in patients with lymphoma
Planetary health diet and mediterranean diet associated with similar survival and sustainability benefits
Singapore launches national standard to validate antimicrobial disinfectant products
Molecular stool test could improve detection of tuberculosis in adults with HIV
Suspected fibrocartilaginous embolus in Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus)
[Press-News.org] UCI, Northwestern researchers create compounds that boost antibiotics' effectivenessInhibitors could form basis of new treatments for such diseases as MRSA, anthrax