4 ms·

Fabimycin and Its Activity against Drug-Resistant Gram-Negative Pathogens

69 points by dsego 4y ago

pfdietz 4y ago
A MIC of 2 micrograms/mL is not great (penicillin is an order of magnitude lower), but I guess one has to walk before one runs.
rex_lupi 4y ago
TL;DR: new antibiotic candidate effective against gram-negative bacterias, which are generally resistant against most antibiotics because of their thick cell walls and efflux pumps, which in combination prevents absorption of antibiotics in their cell. Favimycin shows promising results against common resistant strains of bacterias, including E.coli, further unlike other broad-spectrum antibiotics, this one doesn't affect the gut microbiome much. Current challanges include overcoming low stability in blood plasma and toxicity.
- csdvrx 4y ago
  > TL;DR: new antibiotic candidate effective against gram-negative bacterias, which are generally resistant against most antibiotics because of their thick cell walls and efflux pumps Aren't mycins something very well known and not novel at all? I see them listed in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_antibiotics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_antibiotics along with a link to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminoglycoside https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminoglycoside that explain they work against gram-negative bacterias
  - flobosg 4y ago
    “Mycin” is a suffix used in antibiotics, but does not represent a specific category anymore. If you look at the structure of fabimycin you will see that it does not resemble an aminoglycoside at all.
  - John23832 4y ago
    There are many bacteria that are developing resistance (or are totally resistant) to some mycins (macrolides, particularly azithromycin). Gonorrhea being a HUGE one.
wincy 4y ago
Interesting. Could this potentially kill the gram negative bacteria such as P. Gingivalis that causes destructive gum disease? Seems barbaric (and expensive!) that my dentist says the only treatment is to get my gums aggressively scraped every few months.
- bmau5 4y ago
  It could! We need to invest in developing better treatments for oral pathogens like P. gingivalis. Gum disease is way too pervasive (over half of US adults have it), and yet we still treat it mechanically with manual cleanings. Moving towards using targeted therapies and rebalancing the oral microbiome is a much more effective (and ultimately affordable!) path forward. My company is focused on helping people improve their oral microbiome health, so developments like this are super exciting.
  - wincy 4y ago
    Oh yeah I keep seeing you around on dental threads and considered getting the test but I’m not really sure what action would be taken after knowing what’s in my mouth? Like I’m pretty sure I just have destructive gum disease and need a scraping every three months forever, what comes after getting the test? What do I do with that knowledge?
    - bmau5 4y ago
      Great question! There are a number of steps you can take beyond cleanings, some of which will depend on your current oral microbiome (which we'll provide coaching on once you get your results). We recommend a comprehensive approach, which includes certain products, diet, and lifestyle interventions to help reduce the levels of pathogenic bacteria and promote beneficial species (which are a natural defense against the pathogens!). Here are some resources on diet [1] + probiotics [2] to help get started in the meantime, though: [1] Diet: https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/improve-your-oral-microbiome-part-1-diet https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/improve-your-oral-microbi... [2] Probiotics: https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/a-guide-to-oral-probiotics-and-dental-probiotics https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/a-guide-to-oral-probiotic...

69 points by dsego 4y ago

A MIC of 2 micrograms/mL is not great (penicillin is an order of magnitude lower), but I guess one has to walk before one runs.

rex_lupi 4y ago

TL;DR: new antibiotic candidate effective against gram-negative bacterias, which are generally resistant against most antibiotics because of their thick cell walls and efflux pumps, which in combination prevents absorption of antibiotics in their cell. Favimycin shows promising results against common resistant strains of bacterias, including E.coli, further unlike other broad-spectrum antibiotics, this one doesn't affect the gut microbiome much. Current challanges include overcoming low stability in blood plasma and toxicity.

csdvrx 4y ago
> TL;DR: new antibiotic candidate effective against gram-negative bacterias, which are generally resistant against most antibiotics because of their thick cell walls and efflux pumps Aren't mycins something very well known and not novel at all? I see them listed in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_antibiotics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_antibiotics along with a link to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminoglycoside https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminoglycoside that explain they work against gram-negative bacterias
- flobosg 4y ago
  “Mycin” is a suffix used in antibiotics, but does not represent a specific category anymore. If you look at the structure of fabimycin you will see that it does not resemble an aminoglycoside at all.
- John23832 4y ago
  There are many bacteria that are developing resistance (or are totally resistant) to some mycins (macrolides, particularly azithromycin). Gonorrhea being a HUGE one.

wincy 4y ago

Interesting. Could this potentially kill the gram negative bacteria such as P. Gingivalis that causes destructive gum disease? Seems barbaric (and expensive!) that my dentist says the only treatment is to get my gums aggressively scraped every few months.

bmau5 4y ago
It could! We need to invest in developing better treatments for oral pathogens like P. gingivalis. Gum disease is way too pervasive (over half of US adults have it), and yet we still treat it mechanically with manual cleanings. Moving towards using targeted therapies and rebalancing the oral microbiome is a much more effective (and ultimately affordable!) path forward. My company is focused on helping people improve their oral microbiome health, so developments like this are super exciting.
- wincy 4y ago
  Oh yeah I keep seeing you around on dental threads and considered getting the test but I’m not really sure what action would be taken after knowing what’s in my mouth? Like I’m pretty sure I just have destructive gum disease and need a scraping every three months forever, what comes after getting the test? What do I do with that knowledge?
  - bmau5 4y ago
    Great question! There are a number of steps you can take beyond cleanings, some of which will depend on your current oral microbiome (which we'll provide coaching on once you get your results). We recommend a comprehensive approach, which includes certain products, diet, and lifestyle interventions to help reduce the levels of pathogenic bacteria and promote beneficial species (which are a natural defense against the pathogens!). Here are some resources on diet [1] + probiotics [2] to help get started in the meantime, though: [1] Diet: https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/improve-your-oral-microbiome-part-1-diet https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/improve-your-oral-microbi... [2] Probiotics: https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/a-guide-to-oral-probiotics-and-dental-probiotics https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/a-guide-to-oral-probiotic...