The revival of octapeptin

The "forgotten" drug will help defeat bacteria resistant to modern antibiotics

Natalia Pelezneva, Naked Science

In search of an effective remedy against antibiotic–resistant bacteria, Australian researchers studied the properties of octapeptin, a drug obtained in the late 1970s. For about 40 years, octapeptin remained in the shadow of more popular drugs. Scientists investigated the drug using the latest methods and came to the conclusion that octapeptin can replace some of the "last reserve" antibiotics to which dangerous bacteria have already acquired resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most difficult problems faced by modern medicine. Bacteria-the causative agents of many diseases acquire resistance to certain types of drugs. They can also transfer the genes that provide such resistance to other microorganisms by horizontal gene transfer.

The authors of the new work say that octapeptin was "forgotten" because of the abundance of antibiotics: in the 1970s, many researchers worked in this area, and new drugs appeared regularly. However, in recent decades, much fewer new antibiotics have appeared on the market – their development requires large technical resources, while due to the transfer of resistance, the drug may be useless in a few years.

Researchers believe that octapeptin can replace colistin, an antibiotic of the "last reserve". Such drugs are used when other means do not work. At the same time, colistin is extremely toxic to the body. Octapeptin is similar in structure to colistin, but less toxic. Studies have also shown that octapeptin fights gram–negative bacteria more effectively - this type includes pathogens of pneumonia and salmonellosis.

Matt Cooper, one of the authors of the work, comments: "Gram-negative pathogen bacteria are more difficult to destroy, because drugs need to overcome an additional membrane hidden under a "capsule" or a layer of mucus that protects the bacterium from the effects of drugs and our immune system. Octapeptin in early preclinical studies showed greater antimicrobial activity compared to colistin when working with gram-negative bacteria resistant to many antibiotics."

The "revived" drug is waiting for a series of new studies. According to scientists, the search for effective drugs among already known remedies may be a promising direction in the creation of new antibiotics.

The study is published in the journal Cell Chemical Biology.

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