Life-threatening bacteria treated by vitamin-like molecules

A new class of vitamin-like molecules that can be used to treat life-threatening ‘golden staph’ bacteria has been discovered

Ashleigh Paparella, who discovered the vitamin-like molecule, said: “Golden staph is a dangerous bacteria that is resistant to many common antibiotics. We’ve discovered a new class of antibiotics that stops golden staph in its tracks by preventing its use of vitamin B7.”

Normally, golden staph picks up vitamin B7 from its environment and uses it as a co-factor to create energy for growth and metabolism.

 University of Adelaide’s Paparella found that her antibiotic – which is a vitamin B7 mimic – prevents the normal activity of B7 through blocking the activity of an enzyme called BPL.

Parparella said: “We’ve also tested to show that our B7 mimic does not block BPL in human cells, so it is safe to use.”

While these studies have been conducted in cultured cells so far, Parparella is now measuring the capacity of the B7 mimic to treat real-life infections.

The research by Parparella was presented at Fresh Science South Australia 2015, a national program that helps early-career researchers find and share their stories of discovery. 

Parparella also said: “Antibiotic resistance is a global threat to human health. We hope our research will help tackle this important issue.”