Inside Job
New drugs turn the tables on pathogens.
Posted February 13th, 2015 – Article by Nick Houtman
Pathogens that cause about six out of 10 human diseases – including AIDS, influenza, cholera, malaria, tuberculosis and Ebola – infect animals such as birds, bats, cattle, monkeys, camels and other species. Through a global initiative known as One Health, veterinary and human health organizations are coordinating research and sharing results. They are tracking pathogens wherever they go.
Researchers at Oregon State University take a multi pronged approach to these diseases. They are delving into the social and historical dimensions of disease transmission and medical science. In the face of growing resistance to antibiotics, they are developing new drugs, including antivirals. They are helping public-health agencies get the most from vaccination campaigns and efforts to combat outbreaks.
Taifo Mahmud, a medicinal chemist in Oregon State College of Pharmacy, is developing new drugs by turning to the bacteria that produce them. To find a new malaria treatment, Mahmud is focusing on pactamycin, a powerful broad-spectrum antibiotic that is so toxic to human cells that it is unfit for medical use. With modification to the compound, he has shown that, in cell culture, the altered form of the drug retains its potency against the malarial parasite but is about 30 times less toxic to human cells. For tuberculosis, Mahmud turns to rifampin. Mahmud and his team have re-engineered the bacteria that make the compound and found that the new drug kills resistant TB bacteria.
In her la
b in the College of Pharmacy, Aleksandra Sikora is looking for new ways to outwit N. gonorrhoeae. Sikora’s group is the first to use the science of proteomics – the comprehensive analysis of protein composition and structure – to identify potential targets for gonorrhea vaccines.
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