Research virus can kill acne bacteria

Study: Viruses can eliminate causative acne bacteria

09/25/2012

A trigger for pimples and pustules are bacteria. Some viruses can kill the strains of bacteria, according to scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles. The study results may soon play an important role in the treatment of morbid acne.

Permanent scars from acne
Up to 90 percent suffer from acne at times, especially during puberty. Especially in this Lebensspahse pimples and pustules form on the face with some large pus. For some of those affected, acne causes severe inflammation with crusts and permanent skin scars. Today, medicine knows that „Hormones, oily skin and the immune system plays a major role in the development of acne“, Co-author Laura Marinelli of the University of California reports. But bacterial deposits also play a crucial role and are also considered as a trigger. To fight them, be the research team „completely new ways“ went.

Bacteria as a trigger of pimples and pustules
Bacteria of the strain „Propionibacterium acne“ are considered a trigger for acne. A rather unusual treatment method has now been determined by US researchers. A special virus, which according to the scientists is harmless to humans, could infect and kill acne-causing bacteria. Other vital and living on the skin flora bacteria would not be affected. The virus belonging to the genus of bacteriophages is thereby a „effective remedy for serious acne“, write the study authors in the journal „mbio“.

Normally bacteriophages in humans can cause serious health damage if bacterial processes serve the human organism. An example is the attack of lactic acid bacteria by phages from untreated raw milk. It is possible, however, to design a drug from the virus. Another form could also be the isolation of the active ingredient responsible for killing the bacteria.

Virus showed enzyme activity against bacterial cell walls
During a first laboratory examination, the research team was able to determine that „The virus produces an enzyme that destroys the cell walls of acne bacteria. Through this process, the germs die. In another research, the scientists now want to isolate the drug and check whether the sole enzyme can develop the same mechanism of action.

Increasing antibiotic resistance in skin bacteria
The researchers justify their work with the increasing resistance of antibiotics. "Acne affects millions of people, yet there are hardly any treatments that are safe and effective," argues study leader Robert Modlin. In the treatment of dermal bacteria, conventional medicine is increasingly using antibiotic agents. But drugs with active ingredients such as tetracycline, which are often used in skin diseases, are often not effective because many skin bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics.

Andre agents containing the drug „Isotretinoin“ are known, in part, for it „to produce serious side effects“. Not infrequently, patients suffer from skin inflammation, hair loss and, in some cases, even nerve and liver damage. Therefore it is time, „to find new ways to treat acne successfully and safely“, emphasizes Modlin.

Eleven virus types evaluated
For the study, the science team evaluated the genome of a total of eleven types of viruses that contaminate and kill typical acne bacteria. As it turned out, all bacteriophages were genetically very similar. „Eighty-five percent of the genome of viral phages were identical“, the researchers write. Normally, viruses have large differences in genetic makeup. „Surprisingly, unlike other well-analyzed bacteriophages, we found that P.Acnes phages are very homogeneous and show a striking lack of genetic diversity“, so the authors.

All phages carried a gene that included a genesis guide for the specific enzyme endolysin. Endolysin is thought by researchers to be responsible for the dissolution of cell walls in the acne germs, ultimately causing the bacteria to die. The enzyme is therefore moving into the focus of the next research in order to design a drug for acne in the future. „We believe that these phages have many functions that make them ideal candidates for the development of phage-based therapy for acne.“ Also read: Natural home remedies for pimples. (Sb)

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Picture: Gerd Altmann