November 5, 2008
Weekly News UpdateScientists Shed Light on How Superbugs Spread
Researchers at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) have captured the first visual evidence of how deadly pathogens called "superbugs" spread. According to the researchers, these superbugs have become more and more common as the use of antibiotics has become more widespread. One of these superbugs, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, was responsible for the death of 19,000 Americans over a span of just one year. Superbugs are easily transmitted but not easily treated because they resist treatment by standard antibiotics. Superbugs are most dangerous in hospitals and other health-care facilities, as patients in these locations are most susceptible to the antibiotic-resistant pathogens due to their already-impaired immune systems.
Scientists used fluorescent microscopy to capture live images of the spread of a superbug pathogen.
In their research, lead scientists Philip Silverman and Margaret Clark, with the help of Cindy Maddera and Robin Harris, used high-powered fluorescent microscopy to capture images of the spread of a superbug. The scientists tagged a virus with fluorescent dye, which in turn attached itself to the filaments on live bacteria. These bacterial filaments, which are thin and threadlike in appearance, are called conjugative pili. Several decades ago, scientists discovered that conjugative pili were responsible for the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes from one bacterium to another. However, no one had ever captured images of this process in progress. Silverman and Clark were the first to capture live images of the conjugative pili as they extended and retracted onto live cells, pulling cells together in preparation for genetic transfer. The results of their research will be published in the November 11 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is a nonprofit biomedical research institute located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The goal of the foundation is to understand and develop more effective treatments for human diseases with a focus on heart disease, cancer, lupus, and Alzheimer's disease.