This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 10 million people contract tuberculosis (TB) each year. It is one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide.
Treatment is lengthy and typically involves a combination of several antibiotics over many months. Drug-resistant strains are particularly problematic because the antibiotics used against them are only partially effective. New compounds capable of overcoming existing resistance are urgently needed.
An international team led by the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), the Institut Pasteur and Université Paris Cité has now demonstrated that the natural compound corramycin has a previously unknown effect against the tuberculosis pathogen and attacks it in a novel way. The researchers published their findings in the journal Advanced Science. The study began with a screening of an extensive library of myxobacterial extracts against the tuberculosis pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The researchers identified corramycin as a promising candidate. In the laboratory, the natural compound is effective against various forms of the pathogen, including strains from clinical samples that are already resistant to common antibiotics. The results suggest that corramycin could be effective where established drugs reach their limits.
The study was conducted in close collaboration between HIPS and Dr. Stéphanie Petrella of the Institut Pasteur in Paris and Université Paris Cité, as well as partners from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), including research groups led by Jan Rybniker of the University Hospital of Cologne and Norbert Reiling of the Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center. The project highlights the success of collaborative research within DZIF and internationally.
HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research in collaboration with Saarland University. "We already knew that corramycin is a naturally occurring substance with antibiotic activity. What's new is that we've now been able to demonstrate its pronounced activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and, at the same time, elucidate how the substance damages the pathogen," says Dr.
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