Might we create superbugs that resist our bodies ancient defences?
Bacteria can develop resistance to at least one experimental drug based on naturally occurring antibiotics in sweat and mucus. The finding confounds the predictions of many experts, and sounds a cautionary note for drug developers. In people, natural bacteria-fighting compounds kill microbes in places such as the mouth, eyes and skin. More than 800 such compounds, dubbed antimicrobial peptides, have been identified in humans, plants, frogs and other organisms. Several drugs based on antimicrobial peptides are being developed, in part because of the rising problem of antibiotic resistance to conventional drugs such as penicillin. Antibiotic resistance develops after exposure to antibiotics culls susceptible bacteria, leaving the most hardy, resistant ones to survive. Several experts have claimed that antimicrobial peptides are largely immune to this problem, pointing out that they still work after the long time span of human evolution. This is partly because they kill bacteria particula
