New class of antibiotics discovered for first time in decades

For the first time in three decades, researchers believe they have identified a new class of antibiotics.

Teams at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada and the University of Illinois, Chicago — led by researcher Gerry Wright — collaborated in the discovery of lariocidin, which was found to be effective against drug-resistant bacteria.

The results were published this week in the journal Nature.

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Lariocidin is a lasso peptide, a string of amino acids in a lasso shape that attacks bacteria and keeps it from growing and surviving, according to a McMaster press release.

It is produced by a type of bacteria called Paenibacillus, which the researchers retrieved from a local backyard soil sample and cultivated in a lab for one year.

Paenibacillus was found to produce a new substance that attacks antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

"Lariocidine is not susceptible to many of the mechanisms that make disease-causing bacteria resistant to the available antibiotics," the researchers told Fox News Digital.

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The molecule has a unique structure of a "knotted lasso or a pretzel."

"Lariocidin binds to the molecular machine, the ribosome, that makes all the cellular proteins, which is one of the most vital processes in the cells," the researchers said. 

"It binds to a specific site in the ribosome to which none of the known antibiotics bind, and stops the ribosome from making proteins."

Another key benefit of lariocidin is that it’s not toxic to human cells, the researchers noted.

The finding is significant in light of growing antimicrobial resistance, which the World Health Organization has described as a global public health threat that kills more than 4.5 million people worldwide each year.

"The antibiotic resistance crisis that we're currently facing represents a major threat to how we practice medicine," the researchers told Fox News Digital.

"We need to prevent and treat infection if we are to continue to have unfettered access to surgeries, hip replacements, cancer chemotherapy, the treatment of premature infants, etc. — consequently, we need new antibiotic drugs to do this over the long term."

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, applauded the discovery.

"Artificial intelligence promises to improve new drug targets, including for antibiotics — and in the meantime, research at McMaster in Canada has found a new class of antibiotics," he told Fox News Digital.

"This new kind of antibiotic — lariocidin — works by interfering with protein synthesis that many bacteria need to survive."

Siegel reiterated that a new class of antibiotics hasn’t emerged in decades — "in part because they aren't that profitable, as you only need them when sick."

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Dr. Stephen Vogel, a family medicine physician with PlushCare, a virtual health platform with primary care, therapy and weight management options, said this discovery represents a "promising answer" to tackle infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria. 

"Because this microbe can kill bacteria in a way that it can't evolve to evade, due to its protein production system called the ribosome, it has the potential to be a durable and lasting choice for a large variety of deadly bacterial infections," the North Carolina-based doctor told Fox News Digital.

If this microbe were brought to market as an antibiotic, it would mean millions fewer deaths from bacterial infections each year, according to Vogel.

"Garden soil may seem mundane, but it's in fact its own universe of microbes, fungi and bacteria, which can lead to key innovations like the promise that this discovery brings," he added.

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Looking ahead, the McMaster researchers will investigate ways to modify and produce the newly discovered molecule for use in clinical settings, a process that will require significant time and resources.

"This discovery is just the starting point of a long process of developing this molecule into a drug," the researchers told Fox News Digital. 

"What we have to do next is to test whether lariocidin, which can cure animals, is effective for the treatment of a variety of infections in humans."

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The researchers added that science is sometimes "serendipitous."

"You often have to shovel a lot of dirt before you find a gem, which lariocidin certainly is. Therefore, funding ‘dirt shoveling’ is critical for finding new gems."