Cholesterol Lowering Drug May Render Staph Bacteria Harmless
Posted on February 23, 2008
Leave a Comment
In their efforts to develop new treatments for drug-resistant staph infections, scientists have obtained positive results using a cholesterol lowering drug that never made it to market. Researchers believe that cholesterol reducing compounds known as squalene synthase inhibitors may work on staph infections, including methicillin resistant staph, by rendering the bacteria vulnerable to the body’s natural immune system defenses.
The research supported by the National Institutes of Health revealed that squalene synthase inhibitors act as a sort of Kryptonite to Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by removing their natural defense: staphyloxanthin, a carotenoid pigment that gives staph a golden hue. S. aureus bacteria that lack that pigment have inhibited ability to fight off the human immune response, resulting in decreased virulence.
In studies, the squalene sythase inhibitor BPH-652 interfered with the enzyme responsible for producing the staphyloxanthin pigment. The resulting colorless staph bacteria were significantly weakened. Lab mice injected with S. aureus bacteria that also received BPH-652 exhibited a 98% reduction in bacterial counts.
Researchers are testing hundreds of additional compounds to determine if any are more effective in stripping staph bacteria of their color and virulence. The research is still in a very early stage – too early for human trials – but pigment reduction appears to be a promising area for further investigation.
The complete study results were reported in the article “A Cholesterol Biosynthesis Inhibitor Blocks Staphylococcus aureus Virulence” published in Science Express, the online edition of Science magazine.
Comments
Leave a Reply