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CRP
Researchers Discover Antibiotic Resistance Protein
U.S. scientists Thursday said they found the structure of a protein that plays a role in conferring resistance to antibiotics and chemotherapy. The protein, called MsbA, is used by bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics, and human cancer cells incorporate a similar protein to escape chemotherapy drugs.
Using a technique called X-ray crystallography, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute obtained a detailed structure of the protein, they reported in Science. Strains of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics, sometimes called super bugs, have become an emerging threat in recent years. Public health officials have been alarmed by a rise in resistant strains of bacteria that cause tuberculosis, dysentery and staph infections.
Knowing the structure of MsbA may aid in developing ways to overcome antibiotic and chemotherapeutic resistance, the researchers said. For example, it could enable scientists to design drugs patients would take along with antibiotics or chemotherapy drugs that would reduce the chance of resistance.
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