New approach predicts which infections are likely to be cured and which will persist
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD)
Electron microscope image of MRSA bacteria (yellow) enmeshed in a human white blood cell. Elaine Schmidt |
FINDINGS
Researchers applied a new approach pioneered at UCLA to predict which methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, infections will fail to respond to antibiotic treatment. By focusing on epigenetics changes to gene expression that can’t be detected by standard DNA sequencing the study examined how the immune system recognizes dangerous superbugs and works with antibiotics to clear them.
BACKGROUND
The Staphylococcus aureus bacterium can live harmlessly on a person’s skin and in their nose, occasionally causing mild infections that can be treated with standard antibiotics. When it enters the bloodstream, however, it can transform into a virulent and life-threatening pathogen that doesn’t res