11 July 2013

Antibiotics: present and future

Scientist: antibiotics of the future will be able to "turn off" genes in microbes

RIA NewsAntibiotics of the future will be aimed at "turning off" genetic processes in the cells of pathogens, such drugs will solve the problem of resistance of microbes to traditional medicines, said Nobel Prize winner Sidney Altman.

The scientist delivered a plenary lecture "Antibiotics: Present and Future" at the 38th Congress of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies on Wednesday. Altman spoke about his work on the creation of new drugs. According to the scientist, relatively simple antibiotic molecules isolated from natural sources will be replaced by artificially synthesized compounds "aimed" at "turning off" the work of genes in microbes.

The basis of the new drugs will be the so–called morpholine oligonucleotides - short chains of artificially synthesized nucleic acids that are used in molecular biology to change the work of genes, Altman noted. The creation of such compounds is considered one of the promising directions in biopharmaceuticals. In this case, morpholine oligonucleotides "merged" with short peptide molecules.


According to Altman, such a structure in the cells of microorganisms binds to the molecules of matrix ribonucleic acid, which carries information from DNA, which leads to their destruction. Resistance to antibiotics of this type is not developed, Altman noted. This is fundamentally important, since in recent years there has been an increase in mortality from diseases caused by drug-resistant strains of bacteria in the world.

The new drugs have successfully proven themselves in laboratory studies, destroying malaria pathogens, the scientist noted. Although the synthesis of new antibiotics will cost more than the production of traditional drugs, it will be economically justified in terms of reducing mortality, Altman added.

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