Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have used a substance made from viruses called endolysin to fight resistant staphylococci. This allows the cell wall of the bacteria to be attacked in a targeted manner.
Endolysins are naturally occurring enzymes produced by viruses that infect bacteria (bacteriophage). After the viruses have penetrated the bacterium, their endolysins cut open reticular scaffolds in the bacterial cell wall and destroy the bacteria from the inside. Each endolysin recognizes and cuts very specific structures. One – XZ.700 – was shown to be effective against the problem germ Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) on skin samples from people with cutaneous lymphoma (cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, CTCL).
“What’s great about this enzyme is that it’s designed to penetrate the wall of S. aureus. This allows it to attack and kill the harmful staph bacteria and leave harmless skin bacteria unharmed,” explained Dr. Emil Pallesen from the University of Copenhagen. In laboratory experiments, Endolysin XZ.700 was effective against S. aureus strains derived from patients with skin lymphoma: the treatment eliminated bacterial colonies present on skin tissue samples. The treatment also prevented the bacteria from colonizing healthy and broken skin in people with cutaneous lymphoma.
“For people who are severely ill with skin lymphoma, staph can present a huge, sometimes unsolvable problem, as many are infected with a type of S. aureus that is resistant to antibiotics. Therefore, it is important to find new ways to treat and prevent these infections. Our laboratory tests have shown that endolysins not only clear S. aureus from skin samples, but also inhibit its ability to promote cancer growth,” explained Dr. Niels Ødum from the University of Copenhagen.
S. aureus is found on the skin and nose of many people and is generally harmless. However, when the immune system is compromised, the bacteria can cause a variety of infections, from mild skin infections like boils and abscesses to life-threatening diseases like pneumonia and sepsis. People with skin lymphomas are very susceptible to bacterial infections. S. aureus also secretes substances that are thought to promote lymphoma progression, because in these patients, cancer symptoms worsen when the bacteria colonize skin lesions. Strains of S. aureus that are resistant to methicillin and other antibiotics are referred to as MRSA.
Which: DOI 10.1016/j.jid.2023.01.039