Possible Substitute for Antibiotics to Treat Dangerous Infections

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Infections continue to threaten human health. With remarkable genetic flexibility, pathogenic organisms outsmart available therapies. Fortunately, microbial versatility is matched by the host immune system, which evolves in dialogue with the microbes. Therapies that enhance the beneficial effects of the immune response represent a promising, but under-explored, therapeutic alternative to antibiotics.

A recently published paper identifies a new therapeutic target for the treatment of bacterial infections that regulates the immune response. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now found an “off” switch for destructive inflammation in infected kidneys that does not impair the anti-bacterial defense.

The challenge is to strengthen the good, antibacterial defence without causing tissue damage. Inflammation accompanies most infections and symptoms like fever and pain are the price to pay for an effective defense.

”Here we address how to avoid the exaggerated immune response to severe infections, which can lead to tissue destruction and even organ failure” says Manoj Puthia, researcher at Lund University, Sweden and lead author of the study.

”We knew that specific transcription factors regulate innate immune responses to bacterial infection and that the outcome of infection be beneficial or destructive, depending on how these regulators work” says Professor Catharina Svanborg. ”We have also identified genetic variants in susceptible patients that support this concept.” ..Read More>>

Source: Medical Xpress

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