Singapore Studies Offer Breakthrough Solutions to Antibiotic Resistance Crisis

Two new studies done in Singapore could solve the problem of antibiotic resistance, which is projected to kill 10 million people worldwide annually by 2050 if left unchecked, according to a 2019 report by the United Nations’ Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance. In the first study, researchers from the Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials (I-FIM) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have created a compound which can potentially treat non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections. The bacteria which cause such infections are resistant to conventional medication because of their thick and impermeable cell envelope. However, conjugated oligoelectrolytes – a class of synthetic antimicrobials – can prevent and circumvent antimicrobial resistance and can be engineered into a variety of therapeutic agents to fight a broad range of infections.
I-FIM principal investigator Guillermo Bazan said: Their unique structure, which facilitates the spontaneous interaction with lipid bilayers, allows them to breach the bacterial defences that so often thwart existing drugs. COE-PNH2, the molecule designed by the I-FIM researchers, has shown high efficacy against Mycobacterium abscessus, one of the most prevalent mycobacterial species. The compound attacks both replicating and dormant forms of the mycobacteria, eradicating them and reducing the likelihood of resistance or relapse. COE-PNH2 exhibited a low frequency of resistance in our study, which suggests that it may remain effective longer than existing treatments, providing patients with a more durable solution, said Bazan. The study, which was funded in part by the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine’s Kickstart Initiative, was published in scientific journal Science Translational Medicine on Feb 21. In another study, researchers from NTU and the University of Toulouse in France have discovered how bacteria and their toxins trigger an immune response in humans, leading to inflammation. Over three years, the researchers found that when potassium ions in cells fall below a certain level, such as when tissue is damaged by an infection, they trigger an immune response where strong pro-inflammatory molecules are released.