Antibiotics May Lessen the Bacteria-Killing Abilities of Immune Cells

(Newswire.net — March 17, 2022) Orlando, FL — Antibiotics are some of the widely-used and helpful medications today. However, it is worth noting that this type of pharmaceutical drug may also produce some side effects. 

A study has particularly shown that antibiotics show potential in reducing the ability of immune cells to kill bacteria. 

The findings of this research were published in Cell Host & Microbe.

It is worth noting that antibiotics usually act in concert with the immune system of an organism in eliminating the infection. However, this type of pharmaceutical drug can also have broadside effects, including the elimination of  “good” bacteria in the course of fighting off a pathogen.  

This new study was spearheaded by researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, MIT, and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. 

It has particularly shown that antibiotics can decrease the ability of mouse immune cells in killing bacteria. Further, alterations to the biochemical environment elicited directly by treatment can protect the bacterial pathogen. 

“Antibiotics interact with cells, particularly immune cells, in ways we didn’t expect,” said co-first author Jason Yang, a postdoctoral scholar at the Broad Institute and MIT. 

“And the biochemical context, altered by antibiotics and cells in the surrounding tissue, matters when you’re trying to predict how a drug might work in different people or in different infections.”

Senior author James Collins — an institute member at Broad, professor at MIT, and core faculty member at the Wyss Institute — and his lab have previously carried out a study.

They found that several types of antibiotics are damaging to mitochondria in mice and in human epithelial cells. Further,  bacterial susceptibility to drugs can be impacted by small molecules, called metabolites. 

It is worth noting these metabolites are released by cells as intermediates of their metabolic reactions.

The studies looking into the use of antibiotics continue to increase. It is worth keeping in mind that this type of medication is undeniably useful, especially for individuals with UTIs. However, they can also produce some side effects.

Lessening the risk of UTIs could be extremely helpful in reducing the need for antibiotics, the misuse or overuse of which can lead in antimicrobial resistance. 

Today, more and more research studies highlight the powerful UTI-fighting effects of remedies like D-mannose. This therapeutic ingredient has long been studied due to its remarkable ability to prevent and treat UTIs.

It is obtained widely through the use of formulas like Divine Bounty D-mannose. (http://amazon.com/D-Mannose-600mg-Cranberry-Dandelion-Extract/dp/B01LX5KGF0)