Researchers at the University of Texas are studying the use of whole-cell vaccines to solve urinary tract infections or UTIs, because this is a serious problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

This research has been published in the “ACS Nano Journal” of the American Chemical Society.

Dr. Nicole De Nisco, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, and Dr. Jeremiah Gassensmith, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, recently demonstrated the use of metal organic frameworks (MOF) to encapsulate and inactivate entire bacterial cells to create a “warehouse” that allows the duration of vaccines in the body to be longer. long. Research​​shows that, compared with the standard whole-cell vaccine preparation method, this method produces significantly enhanced antibody production and significantly higher survival rates in mice.

“Vaccination is being explored as a treatment for recurrent urinary tract infections, because antibiotics no longer work,” Denisco said.

“Patients are losing their bladder to save their lives because bacteria cannot be killed by antibiotics, or because they are extremely allergic to antibiotics, which is more common in the elderly than people realize,” Denisco added. The American Urological Association estimates that 150 million UTIs occur annually worldwide, accounting for US$6 billion in medical expenditures. If treatment is unsuccessful, urinary tract infections can lead to sepsis, which can be fatal.

De Nisco said that recurrent UTI is mainly considered a female health problem, and although it is very common-especially in postmenopausal women-many women rarely talk about it.

“Every subsequent infection became more difficult to treat,” Denisco said.

“Even if you clear the bacteria in the bladder, the population still exists elsewhere and is usually resistant to the antibiotics used. When patients become resistant to antibiotics, they will eventually lose their choice,” Denisco added .

De Nisco’s collaboration with Gassensmith began at the end of 2018, after she introduced UTI’s microbiology to the Campus Safety Protocol Committee.

“After that, we discussed the idea of ​​my research group to create better whole-cell vaccines by storing antigens in this slow-release library,” Gasson Smith said.

“At the time, we didn’t have a real model to test it, and I think UTI provides a good opportunity,” Gasson Smith added.

The working principle of a vaccine is to introduce a small amount of killed or weakened pathogenic bacteria or some of their components into the human body. These antigens prompt the immune system to produce antibodies against specific diseases. Making vaccines against pathogens is inherently difficult, because bacteria are much larger and more complex than viruses. Choosing which biological components to use to make antigens has always been a major challenge.

News Source : Hindustan Times