Dermcidin, a natural antibiotic, produced by our skin when we sweat, is highly effective in fighting tuberculosis germs and other dangerous bugs, according to a new research.
Research could contribute to the development of new antibiotics that could control multi-resistant bacteria, a release by the University of Edinburgh said today.
Scientists have uncovered the atomic structure of Dermcidin. Although about 1700 types of natural antibiotics are known to exist, it was unknown until now how they work.
Sweat spreads highly efficient antibiotics on our skin, which protect us from dangerous bugs.
If our skin get injured by a cut, scratch or the sting of a mosquito, antibiotic agents secreted in sweat glands, such as dermcidin, rapidly and efficiently kill invaders.
These natural substances, known as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), are more effective in the long term than traditional antibiotics, because germs can't develop resistance against them.
The antimicrobials can attack the bugs� Achilles� heel � their cell wall, which cannot be modified quickly to resist attack.
Because of this, AMPs have great potential to form a new generation of antibiotics.
The molecule forms tiny channels perforating the cell membrane of bugs, which are stabilised by charged particles of zinc present in sweat.
As a consequence, water and charged particles flow uncontrollably across the membrane, eventually killing the harmful microbes.
Scientist found that dermcidin can adapt to extremely variable types of membrane enabling it to fend off bacteria and fungi at the same time.
The compound is active against many well-known pathogens such as tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, or Staphylococcus aureus.
Multi-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, are insensitive towards conventional antibiotics and are difficult to treat.
Staphylococcus aureus infections can lead to life-threatening diseases such as sepsis and pneumonia.
"Our own bodies produce efficient substances to fend off bacteria, fungi and viruses. This research will help in developing infection-fighting drugs that are more effective than conventional antibiotics", said Dr Ulrich Zachariae of the University of Edinburgh�s School of Physics, who took part in the study.
