A study published online on May 24th in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org) suggests that boosting the abundance of one of the body's own proteins might be more effective than antibiotic treatment at fighting off a common meningitis-causing bacterium (E. coli K1).
E. coli K1 can lead to long-lasting neurological deficits and, in severe cases, death. The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains coupled with the severe side effects of antibiotic treatment highlight the urgent need for new anti-bacterial therapies.
Nemani V. Prasadarao and co-workers show that injection of a natural anti-inflammatory protein called interleukin-10 protected mice against lethal infection with E. coli K1—even the antibiotic-resistant variety—without triggering the side effects of antibiotics.
Interleukin-10 is already used to treat adults with certain autoimmune diseases. Whether it will be safe and effective in human infants infected with E. coli K1 remains to be seen.
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The Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM) is published by The Rockefeller University Press. All editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted are made by active scientists in conjunction with our in-house scientific editors. JEM content is posted to PubMed Central, where it is available to the public for free six months after publication. Authors retain copyright of their published works and third parties may reuse the content for non-commercial purposes under a creative commons license. For more information, please visit www.jem.org.
Mittal, R., et al. 2010. J. Exp. Med. doi:10.1084/jem.20092265.
Journal
Journal of Experimental Medicine