Scientists say that such vaccines may be used to treat MRSA

Jan 3, 2014 15:59 GMT  ·  By

According to scientists at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD), nanoscale particles could hold the key towards developing extremely potent vaccines against resilient bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

This superbug is one of the deadliest out there today, accounting for tens of thousands of deaths every single year. Many of the people who get infected catch MRSA from sterile surfaces in hospitals, where no bacteria should be able to endure. However, over time, MRSA has developed extreme resistance.

Bacteria such as clostridium dificilae, listeria, strep, or Escherichia coli are also very dangerous, and they are in the process of becoming immune to most antibiotics we have available as well. The new study may come with a silver lining to brighten up the prospects for all infected people today.

The investigators say that they have developed a new type of vaccine where they wrap special nanoparticles in a material collected from the membranes of red blood cells. The latter are critically-important components of the human immune system.

Each of the nanoparticles used in the study was loaded with a special bacterial toxin, and then injected into mice. This triggered an immune system response that protected the tiny rodents when they were exposed to lethal doses of the same toxin later on, Technology Review reports.

These toxins are secreted by gram-positive bacteria such as MRSA. When the coated nanoparticles are inserted into the body, they act as a beacon for toxins produced by microorganisms. However, instead of destroying the red blood cells covering and killing a cell underneath, the toxins get trapped inside the nanoparticles, which act like very small sponges.

What the team led by nanoengineering professor Liangfang Zhang wants to achieve is flood the body of a patient with massive amounts of decoy red blood cells, in a way that outnumbers the real red blood cells several times over.

This is easy to do since a single cellular membrane can provide protective coverings for as many as 3,000 nanoparticles. Removing most of the toxin from the bloodstream will make MRSA, for example, a lot more susceptible to damage from the human immune system.