SYDNEY, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have discovered how a promising class of experimental antibiotics disrupts the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB), raising hopes for improved treatments against drug-resistant strains.
TB remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, killing about 1.2 million people every year, with drug-resistant strains posing a growing threat, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, said a statement from Australia's Centenary Institute on Friday.
The study, published in Nature Communications, investigated how three naturally occurring antibiotic compounds -- ecumicin, ilamycin and cyclomarin -- act on a vital protein degradation machine inside Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB.
The molecular machine, known as the ClpC1 - ClpP1P2 complex, allows the bacterium to break down damaged or unneeded proteins, helping it to survive stress and maintain essential functions. Without it, the TB bacterium can't survive, making it an attractive drug target, the study showed.
"TB bacteria depend on this degradation system to stay alive, particularly under stressful conditions inside the human body," said study co-senior author Warwick Britton, laboratory head in the Centenary Institute's Center for Infection & Immunity.
"Our findings show these (antibiotic) compounds don't simply shut the system down. Instead, each one interferes with it in a different way, triggering widespread imbalances across the whole bacterium. This disruption weakens its ability to function and survive," Britton said.
The researchers said understanding how these compounds interact with it and disrupt its normal function will help more strategically design next-generation anti-TB drugs. ■
