Tailor-Made Molecules to Combat Deadly Lung Infections
A new therapeutic approach to treating life-threatening lung infections has been discovered through a collaborative effort between chemists from the University of Magdeburg and molecular medicine specialists from Jena University Hospital. In this experimental approach, pathogenic bacteria or fungi are not treated with antibiotics and antimycotics alone. Instead, the strategy aims to specifically deactivate their most dangerous "tools": toxins that destroy lung cells, allowing microorganisms to spread throughout the body.
Together with molecular medicine experts from Jena, the research team led by CDS member Prof. Dieter Schinzer from the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Magdeburg demonstrated that synthetically modified sterols—natural components of the cell membrane similar to cholesterol—can intercept and deactivate these toxins before they damage tissue. Simultaneously, the body's own cells become more resilient, and the cell membrane is stabilized.
The researchers anticipate that this method will allow invasive lung infections to be mitigated through targeted medication in the future, improving outcomes in intensive care and significantly reducing the burden on the healthcare system.
The objective is to limit bacterially induced tissue damage and the progression of the disease while preserving the efficacy of conventional antibiotics. To achieve this, the interdisciplinary research team pursued a pathoblocking strategy. Rather than killing the pathogens or inhibiting their growth, the scientists succeeded in experiments by specifically targeting their cellular toxin, pneumolysin.
"This toxin acts like a molecular drill," explains CDS member Prof. Dieter Schinzer. "It binds to cholesterol in the cell membranes, punches pores into them, and thus destroys the cells. This results in tissue injuries, a disrupted immune response, and a more severe course of the disease, which often leads to sepsis and can be fatal."
to the full article "Maßgeschneiderte Moleküle gegen tödliche Lungeninfektionen" in uni:magazin"