Researchers have found that zinc can 'starve' one of the world's most deadly bacteria by preventing its uptake of an essential metal. The finding opens the way for further work to design antibacterial agents in the fight against Streptococcus pneumoniae, responsible for more than one million deaths a year, killing children, the elderly and other vulnerable people by causing pneumonia, meningitis, and other serious infectious diseases.
Published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers describe how zinc "jams shut" a protein transporter in the bacteria so that it cannot take up manganese, an essential metal that Streptococcus pneumoniae needs to be able to invade and cause disease in humans.
It's long been known that zinc plays an important role in the body's ability to protect against bacterial infection, but this is the first time anyone has been able to show how zinc actually blocks an essential pathway causing the bacteria to starve. Without manganese, these bacteria can easily be cleared by the immune system. With this new information, researchers can start to design the next generation of antibacterial agents to target and block these essential transporters.
Bonnie: "With this new information, researchers can start to design the next generation of antibacterial agents to target and block these essential transporters." This means that they can create a patentable synthetic chemical that performs the same function as zinc. Zinc, of course, is not patentable.
Utilizing the benefits of zinc, especially during cold and flu season, is critical.
Published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers describe how zinc "jams shut" a protein transporter in the bacteria so that it cannot take up manganese, an essential metal that Streptococcus pneumoniae needs to be able to invade and cause disease in humans.
It's long been known that zinc plays an important role in the body's ability to protect against bacterial infection, but this is the first time anyone has been able to show how zinc actually blocks an essential pathway causing the bacteria to starve. Without manganese, these bacteria can easily be cleared by the immune system. With this new information, researchers can start to design the next generation of antibacterial agents to target and block these essential transporters.
Bonnie: "With this new information, researchers can start to design the next generation of antibacterial agents to target and block these essential transporters." This means that they can create a patentable synthetic chemical that performs the same function as zinc. Zinc, of course, is not patentable.
Utilizing the benefits of zinc, especially during cold and flu season, is critical.
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