Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusCDC/JANICE HANEY CARRA protein-lipid complex that naturally occurs in human breast milk can increase the sensitivity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other drug-resistant strains to multiple classes of antibiotics in animal models, according to a study published yesterday (May 1) in the PLOS ONE.
The findings suggest that the molecule—known as HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells)—could be useful as an antimicrobial adjuvant to boost otherwise ineffective antibiotics against MRSA and other “superbugs” that can cause lethal infectious outbreaks in hospitals.
HAMLET is one of the first antimicrobial adjuvant therapies to show efficacy in vivo, said Anders Hakansson, a microbiologist at the University of Buffalo and lead author of the study. “This molecule can help sensitize [resistant] bacteria to antibiotics we already have,” said Hakansson, “so we can again start using the treatment arsenal that was once available but that has been rendered ineffective.”
Additionally, if the compound does indeed prove effective in humans, HAMLET could be used to lower the doses of antibiotics needed to fight ...
