According to a recent study published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, researchers at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have engineered a form of bacterium that could potentially shield humans against the severe side effects of antibiotics.

Overuse of antibiotics could also eliminate good gut bacteria, which can lead to diarrhea, inflammation, or serious infections such as Clostridioides difficile and result in the spread of resistant microbes worldwide. Medications or particular kinds of diets affect the composition of the microbiota causing Dysbiosis which can lead to various health issues.

Researchers modified a strain of Lactococcus lactis, using gene editing, to modify the strain which could reduce the harmful effects of antibiotics but still allows them to work against infections. A significant reduction was observed in the damage to the gut microbes and the gut microbes recovered after 3 days in the ampicillin and engineered bacteria treated mice. The modified strain protected the microbes that fight against C. difficile and reduced genes causing the antimicrobial resistance in the gut microbiome, while mice that only received the antibiotic had increased levels of C. difficile in the gut and more loss in gut microbes.

The study team is now developing a version of the medication that may be evaluated in people who are at high risk of developing disorders caused by antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis.

(Source: WebMD Health News, Medscape, April 13, 2022)