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'Superhero' microbiome bacteria protect against deadly symptoms during infection
As concerns over deadly antibiotic-resistant strains of 'superbug' bacteria grow, scientists at the Salk Institute are offering a possible solution to the problem: 'superhero' bacteria that live in the gut and move to other parts of the body to alleviate life-threatening side effects caused by infections. In a paper published October 30, 2015 in Science, the Salk researchers reported finding a strain of micro biome Escherichia coli bacteria in mice capable of improving the animals' tolerance to infections of the lungs and intestines by preventing wasting—a common and potentially deadly loss of muscle tissue that occurs in serious infections. If a similarly protective strain is found in humans, it could offer a new avenue for countering muscle wasting, a common and deadly result of patients suffering from sepsis and hospital-acquired infections, many of which are now antibiotic resistant.
As concerns over deadly antibiotic-resistant strains of 'superbug' bacteria grow, scientists at the Salk Institute are offering a possible solution to the problem: 'superhero' bacteria that live in the gut and move to other parts of the body to alleviate life-threatening side effects caused by infections. In a paper published October 30, 2015 in Science, the Salk researchers reported finding a strain of micro biome Escherichia coli bacteria in mice capable of improving the animals' tolerance to infections of the lungs and intestines by preventing wasting—a common and potentially deadly loss of muscle tissue that occurs in serious infections. If a similarly protective strain is found in humans, it could offer a new avenue for countering muscle wasting, a common and deadly result of patients suffering from sepsis and hospital-acquired infections, many of which are now antibiotic resistant.