Although a little more awareness has been gained in our country lately, the wrong use of antibiotics still continues. One of the greatest medical discoveries of the last century; But antibiotics, which are as harmful as they are helpful, kill all the bacteria that come in their way without choosing a single target. The beneficial bacteria in our body are disappearing for the sake of our sore throat. Scientists who have been working on this issue for a while seem to have finally found the solution they were looking for.
The scientific and medical community, who want to prevent antibiotics from doing more harm than good to our body, is slowly reaching a solution. In this direction, instead of the beneficial bacteria killed by the drug, it is necessary to get support from artificial bacteria produced in the laboratory.
Artificial bacteria can protect the body from antibiotics
In line with the researches, an idea was put forward to eliminate the harms of antibiotics. Accordingly, a bacterial species, Lactoccus lactis, was designed in the laboratory to secrete an enzyme called beta-lactamase, which can break down the broad-spectrum antibiotic family. According to the plan, the enzyme secreted from the bacteria would destroy the antibiotic reaching the intestines and protect the beneficial bacteria.
After reaching the consensus, the researchers started animal experiments. Tested on mice, this idea passed the test successfully. Mice were first given artificial bacteria. Afterwards, a common antibiotic called ampicillin was injected into the animals and the observation phase started.
At the end of the observation phase, a conclusion was reached that would make everyone happy. The artificial bacteria produced successfully landed in the animal’s gut without impairing the absorption of the antibiotic into the bloodstream. When it came to the gut, it successfully protected the animals’ microbiomes from antibiotic damage. It is expected that artificial bacteria will be tested on humans in the future and after the necessary studies will destroy the harms of antibiotics all over the world. However, we may have to wait many years for these to happen.
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