Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria or other types of microbes adapt to overcome treatments designed to eliminate them. The evolution of microbes makes it harder to treat infections and increases risk of illness and death. Resistance to antimicrobial treatment is a major threat to global health. Since bacteria rapidly adapt, scientists are worried that treatments will have limited efficacy on patients. To avoid accelerating antimicrobial resistance, it is recommended to only take medications when prescribed, not use leftover medication, and practice good hygiene.
Besides the overuse of antibiotics, healthcare policies have focused on food production to avoid bacterial drug resistance. The use of antibiotics in livestock has been shown to build bacterial resistance in humans. Specifically, raising cattle and other farm animals can generate bacterial resistance and be transferred to humans. These findings have informed the World Health Organization (WHO) and other organizations to place restrictions on the use of antibiotics in farm animals.
Scientists are currently finding new ways to combat antimicrobial resistance and deliver safe, durable antibiotic treatment to patients. Recently, a group of scientists have turned to camels to overcome bacterial treatment resistance. The article published in Frontiers of Immunology, by Dr. Salma Al-Adwani and others, demonstrated the role of three proteins that could act as antimicrobial agents. Through computational analysis and laboratory work, these proteins were characterized and found to eliminate the Escherichia. coli (E. coli) bacterium. Al-Adwani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences within the College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University. Her research focuses on immunity and immune response to infections. She specifically works on developing therapeutic strategies to overcome antimicrobial resistance and is interested in immune cell interactions.
The three peptides are derived from camels and were found to effectively overcome drug-resistant bacteria. Scientists used a computational algorithm to detect the three proteins that contained anti-microbial traits based on set parameters. These proteins included CdPMAP-23, Cdprotegrin-3 (CdPG-3), and Cdcathelin-like (CdCATH). Experiments that measured these parameters were then conducted to validate their antimicrobial properties. Two of the three peptides, specifically CdPG-3 and CdCATH, elicited enhanced antimicrobial killing against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Al-Adwani and others found that these proteins damaged the membrane of E. coli and destroyed bacteria with low toxicity to either camel or human cells.
Scientists note camels’ strong immune system, which helps explain their protection against many infections and diseases. Using camel-derived peptides as antimicrobial agents are an effective approach against bacteria because they target the structural components of infection compared to traditional antibiotics, which allow pathogens to overcome targeted mutations. Researchers confirmed safety of all three peptide agents in other species supporting the idea for use in the clinic. The application of these camel proteins as antimicrobial agents provides insight into effective therapeutic strategies for humans. Al-Adwani and her team have discovered unique proteins that have the ability to degrade bacterial membranes. Each protein provides an opportunity to overcome antimicrobial resistance and enhance therapy in patients.
Article, Frontiers of Immunology, Salma Al-Adwani, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University
