A multidisciplinary team of researchers identified two chemical compounds that could potentially be used to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
For the study, researchers conducted a series of experiments on a type of nematode worm in 2010. The team identified 185 compounds that inhibited MRSA's ability to kill the worms. Researchers selected two of these chemical compounds to investigate further. The compounds worked against MRSA by attacking the protective lipid bilayer of its cells' membrane. This mechanism differs from traditional antibiotics as these drugs work against bacteria by attacking its metabolic processes. The chemical compounds displayed significant efficacy when used to treat MRSA infections in mice.
"With further development and optimization, [these] synthetic [compounds] have the potential to become a new class of antimicrobials for the treatment of Gram-positive bacterial infections that are currently difficult to cure," wrote the study's authors.
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