Fighting Bacteria With Bacteria
-by Kyle Kippenbrock
Dramatization of bacterial competition. photo credit http://punnett.blogspot.com/2015/02/bacteria-can-remember-viruses.html
There are times when battling a advacary for so long, that many people have taken the rout of "If you can't beat'em, join'em". This has recently become the case in the fight against bacterial infections, specifically ones contracted throught the nasal passages. Dr Tadayuki Iwase of the bacteriology department of Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan has identified just how this process is already taking place, and more importantly, how to exploit the benifical results.
Iwase and his team have isolated the protein Esp, also known as S. epidermidis serine protase, that is excreted by the bacteria Staphylococcus epidermidis. The breakthrough came when the team was studying a relative of the bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, which isn't dangerous in small quantities, but can become very dangerous if it is allowed to populate in large quantities.
The team found that the protein Esp was inhibiting the growth of biofilms around Staphlococcus aureus colonies, preventing them from accumulating numbers that can pose threats.
The application of this protein has amazing potential. You could soon be swabing your nose with bacterial laced q-tips to battle your next cold.
Original article: Staphylococcus epidermidis Esp inhibits Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and nasal colonization Nature Volume:465,Pages:346–349 Date published:
I wonder if this enzyme could be used for biofilms not dominated by S. aureus.
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