Scientists have discovered a new antibiotic with the help of artificial intelligence. The so-called helicin proved to be a very promising agent in the fight against germs and bacteria, whose increasing resistance to antibiotics is a cause of great concern. The new study raises hopes because helicin, discovered among thousands of substances, works differently than the antibiotics previously used and could be permanently effective against many diseases.
New antibiotic in the fight against multi-resistant germs
Nowadays, antibiotics are used on a massive scale. Not only animals are given the medication as a precaution, family doctors also prescribe it - even if the antibiotics are not actually effective against the disease (e.g. against viruses or simple colds). This unnecessary use gives bacteria the opportunity to develop resistance by mutating. The result is that the antibiotic no longer works against the respective germs and a new antibiotic is needed.
And this is where things get problematic, because despite constant research there is hardly any progress. The increasing resistance is also a concern for the WHO. In 2019, they developed a plan to help combat thismulti-resistant pathogensshould be proceeded. Not only should the drugs be used less “wastefully”, but new remedies should also be found.
Halicin as a promising agent
The study was conducted by James Collins, a scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his team. The aim was to discover substances with molecules from among 6,000 substances whose atomic substances and structures resembled the already known antibiotics as little as possible. For this purpose, an algorithm received the necessary information about these properties, which it compared with substances from a database. The algorithm soon discovered a potentially new antibiotic that is also said to be well tolerated by humans.
In tests on different bacterial strains that were allowed to grow in the laboratory, halicin proved to be extremely effective, even against those that were already resistant. These also included bacteria that are on the WHO list of pathogens for which a new antibiotic is urgently needed (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Clostridium difficile, Acinetobacter baumannii). However, there was one exception: a lung germ called Pseudomonas aeruginosa could not be treated with halicin.
The promising agent also proved its effectiveness in subsequent animal experiments with mice.
How the new antibiotics work
Halicin works differently than other antibiotics. It attacks the cell membrane and prevents the bacteria and germs from producing the energy they need (ATP – adenosine triphosphate). This in turn leads to the death of the organism. First author Jonathan Stokes explains: “To protect yourself from such an attack on the cell membrane, it is not enough for a bacterium to mutate in one or a few places. This would require significantly more complex mutations.”
The first mutations that make pathogens resistant to antibiotics often develop after just one to three days. Halicin, on the other hand, showed no signs of incipient mutations even after a full 30 days. Nevertheless, further studies are necessary before the substance is approved for treatment in humans in order to rule out side effects. Tests also run through other substances that the algorithm has recognized as potential new antibiotics.
You can find out more about the study hereArticle from the specialist magazine “Cell”.
