Targeting cardiolipin in pneumonia

U.S. researchers have developed a new way for treating pneumonia resistant to standard first-line therapy with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Instead of attacking the bacteria, the researchers designed a peptide that binds cardiolipin, a host-generated lipid involved in lung tissue inflammation and injury.¹

Cardiolipin is found almost exclusively in the membranes of mitochondria, in which it helps maintain membrane architecture and provides stability for enzymes involved in energy metabolism.^2,3 Although the lipid exists at low concentrations in healthy lung fluid, previous studies have shown that markedlyhigher levels of cardiolipin occur in animal models of lung injury and inflammation.^4,5...