BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Infectious disease

June 1, 2017 12:28 AM UTC

Cell culture studies suggest combining tellurite anion and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) could help treat Gram-negative bacterial infections. In cultures of E. coli, directed evolution identified associations between resistance to tellurite anion -- a known antibacterial agent -- and loss of function in genes involved in biosynthesis of ALA and other components on the heme biosynthesis pathway. In cultures of two Salmonella enterica serovars, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and tellurite-sensitive and -resistant strains of E. coli, tellurite anion plus ALA decreased bacterial growth compared with either agent alone. In the E. coli strains, tellurite anion decreased intracellular iron levels compared with no treatment and, in combination with ALA, increased intracellular levels of heme intermediates and reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared with ALA alone. Next steps could include testing the combination therapy in animal models of Gram-negative bacterial infection...