Is Ocean Fungi the Source of the Next Penicillin-like Drug?

After the largest recorded study of ocean DNA was conducted, its results revealed interesting secrets and an abundance of possibilities about fungi living in the twilight zone of the ocean. This article published by Frontier Scientific Publishing has released powerful information that might blow the door right open for the pathway of new drugs.

The twilight zone is between 200 meters and 1,000 meters below the surface of the ocean and is a host for a variety of unique organisms and animals. One of the researchers stated "Penicillin is an antibiotic that originally came from a fungus called Penicillium so we might find something like that from these ocean fungi" suggesting that there might be another resource for Penicillin living within the twilight zone. The environment of the twilight zone consists of extreme pressure, cold temperatures, and no light which might cause fungi to exhibit unique adaptations much like the fish that also live in the environment which have come to develop bioluminescent skin and large eyes. With these possible peculiar traits might come special biochemical properties. 

I believe that this is a critical discovery to the medical field as the discovery of all of the fungi living in the twilight zone of the ocean could contribute massively to the drug department. The development of new drugs similar to Penicillin could have a massive impact on our economy as well as the people who use these types of drugs. Another thing is that along with possibly creating a drug similar to Penicillin there could also be other new drugs formulated to help with other issues people and doctors face daily. 

Sources:

(news article): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/16/ocean-fungi-from-twilight-zone-could-be-source-of-next-penicillin-like-drug

(scientific article): https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/science/articles/10.3389/fsci.2023.1038696/full

(image): https://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/twilight-zone

Penicillin allergies may be linked to one immune system gene

According to the article, penicillin is frequently used as a first-line antibiotic since it is efficient against a wide range of bacterial illnesses. Penicillins are a class of antibiotics that work against a wide array of bacteria. Despite this, it is one of the leading causes of drug allergies. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 10% of individuals have had an adverse response to penicillin. Researchers now have identified a genetic component to hypersensitivity, which may produce hives, wheezing, arrhythmias, and other symptoms, although it is seldom deadly. Penicillin hypersensitivity may be triggered by a genetic change in an immune system gene that aids the body in differentiating between our own cells and pathogenic microorganisms and viruses. According to Kristi Krebs, a pharmacogenomics researcher at the Estonian Genome Center at the University of Tartu, the hotspot lies on the major histocompatibility complex gene HLA-B. Recent research has linked significant variances in HLA genes to negative medication effects. Studies have connected one HLA-B variant to adverse responses to the HIV/AIDS drug, abacavir, and another HLA-B variant to allergic reactions to the gout drug, allopurinol. The researchers evaluated more than 600,000 electronic health records for genetic information on patients who self-reported penicillin intolerance for the penicillin study. The researchers employed a number of genetic search techniques to filter through DNA in search of genetic abnormalities that may be connected to the health issue. Their search led them to a particular location on chromosome 6, where they discovered HLA-B*55:01, a variant of HLA. The researchers then compared their findings to 1.12 million individuals of European ancestry in 23andMe's study database and discovered the same connection. A search of smaller datasets of individuals with East Asian, Middle Eastern, and African ancestry showed no evidence of a comparable link, however the sample sizes were too small to be certain. Hopefully, more clarity can be found on the genetic linkage to the hypersensitivity of patients to penicillin. 

Penicillin Allergies May be Linked to One Immune System Gene

 

    Penicillin is one of the most popular antibiotics but it is also one of the most common drug allergy causes. The effects of this Penicillin allergy include wheezing, hives, and more. Scientists have linked this Penicillin allergy with a genetic variation on the immune system gene HLA. Genetic variations within this gene were also linked with adverse reactions to HIV/AIDS medicine. To find this correlation between the variation in the HLA gene and allergy to Penicillin researchers looked through genetic records of people who reported that they shared this allergy. The researchers combed through the DNA of these people and found one thing in common among all of them, a variation on the same spot of chromosome 6. This variant was named HLA-B*55:01. These findings were then confirmed when researchers cross referenced their findings with genetic data from "23 and Me" that further confirmed the genetic variation in the HLA gene. Scientists are optimistic about these findings because they can use them to help people overcome their allergies to Penicillin and other antibiotics. Scientists now need to come up with a way to override the variation on the HLA gene in chromosome 6 to prevent this resistance from occurring.

Article Link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/penicillin-allergies-immune-system-genetics

Related Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/penicillin-resistance

Penicillin allergies may be linked to one immune system gene

  

    

     Jeanne Erdmann writes in her article that people who have reported getting an allergic reaction to the drug Penicillin may have a vulnerability on the HLA-B gene. Penicillin is a antibiotic that is used against many different bacterial infections but 10 percent of people have reported to be allergic to it. Penicillin is not the only drug that makes the HLA-B gene to produce a bad reaction in the bodies of humans. Studies have shown an HLA-B variant to have adverse reactions to an HIV/AIDS medication called abacavir. 

    600,000 electronic health records from people who reported allergic reactions were used in the penicillin study. Researchers need this information so they could go through the DNA in search of genetic variations that cause the bad reactions. Fortunately they found it on chromosome 6 on a variant called HLA-B*55:01. Then they used a genetic-testing company called 23anMe to go through 1.12 million people who had a European ancestry in order to see if they could find the same link/variant which they did. They also did this with East Asian, Middle Eastern, and African ancestries and found nothing. Of course this is very new study and its seems to be a few holes that researchers need to fix. Nonetheless I think this is a very important because we can maybe find a way to make penicillin work for people who have minor allergies to the drug. Some alternatives don't work as well as Penicillin making it harder for the patient so if they could alter the drug so the patient won't have a reaction would have an impact on the healthcare world.     

    The image used was from this link.        

A Genetic Allergy Reaction to Miracle Drug

 Subject: Penicillin, Gene Variation and Allergy Reaction 

Article: ¨Penicillin allergies may be linked to one immune system gene¨

    One of the first antibiotics that had saved many lives from various infections  had been discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming. Penicillin is the drug known to inhibit bacterial growth. Penicillin despite being a powerful antibiotic for most infections has been reported as causing allergic reactions such as hypersensitivity, hives, wheezing, vomiting, fevers and more. As a result of there being a variation within the cells and genes of the immune system that seeks out bacteria and viruses. The genetic variation can be seen on the DNA of someone's DNA and until recently on a specific gene known as HLA-B. HLA-B is the gene that codes to make proteins that help determine and defend against foreign bodies in the body. 

    After looking at over 600 thousand health records it was discovered that the sensitivity to penicillin could be linked to chromosome 6. Then afterwards, looking at genetic ancestry records it couldn't be entirely ruled if whether or not this was an inherent variation.  Penicillin is not only the most powerful antibiotic, but it has also raised questions in the medical field. For starters, penicillin allergy reactions usually occur during someone's adolescence and typically goes away as they get older and are able to take the drug if prescribed. Or often enough these patients have been misdiagnosed. However,  if that's the case why has penicillin been known to cause other symptoms that are indication of illness. Based on a personal experience with a penicillin reaction when I was 10 or 11, how do I know that if prescribed the drug again for an infection will I not have the same reaction as before (in my case it happened to thrush)? And if such sensitivity is common amongst children why does it occur at all? What is it about our immune system and specifically in HLA-B that allows for the inability to detect or aid in combating harmful bacteria or viruses? 

Article Link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/penicillin-allergies-immune-system-genetics 

Supporting Link(s): https://www.medicinenet.com/penicillins-injection/article.htm#what_are_the_uses_for_penicillin_antibiotics 

https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/hla-b/ 

Main Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/topic/genetics

Are you allergic to Penicillin?

 

Penicillin happens to be one of the most common causes of drug allergies. Researchers have now found a genetic link to the sensitivity. According to the article, the HLA-B gene may be the area where there is genetic variation that causes this allergy. Many studies have been done with the HLA gene, which shows when individuals have a HLA variant they can have higher allergic drug reactions. The researchers used genetic search tools and found a specific spot on chromosome 6 on a variant called HLA-B*55:01. This cannot be confirmed yet, since they checked the results against small databases and found no similar connection. I believe this is a step in the right direction. I personally know people with penicillin allergies, and if we can find the genetic link, then in the future we can isolate it and change it so people can use penicillin when they have bacterial infections. We are just at the beginning of our journey with understanding and changing genes, so I believe this is a good step, but much more can be done. Penicillin is a very useful antibiotic so if we can find a way to make everyone able to use it, it may help a lot of people.

Additional information

Penicillin Allergy Gene Linkage

 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/penicillin-allergies-immune-system-genetics

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/216798

Penicillin is the classic antibiotic, a frontline resistance to many bacterial infections. Unfortunately, penicillin is reportedly the cause of many allergic reactions. Researchers have found a genetic linkage to the penicillin allergy that is creating a higher risk of predisposition to this allergic effect. The gene associated with this allergy is a variation to a gene complex on an immune system gene. The gene complex that is affected is called the histocompatibility complex gene HLA-B. This gene complex was already known to have linkage with bad responses to other drugs, including some HIV medication and allergic reaction to gout medication. In order to identify this gene as the source, researchers looked over 600,000 peoples electronic health records and utilized several genetic tools to identify similarities in the sample. Ultimately, they found that a specific "hot spot" on chromosome 6 was a constant, and this region held a variation of the HLA-B gene identified as HLA-B*55:01. Comparing there findings to over 1 million European samples through the use of the genetic testing site, 23 and me, they found the same genetic link of the HLA-B gene complex. Researchers say there is still a lot more evidence to come to light to fully understand the genetic linkage to penicillin allergy, but this is a good start. 

How does Penicillin work?

Even though Penicillin has been the go to antibiotic for almost a century, scientists still don’t understand how the drug works. Resistance against penicillin has been emerging over the recent decades and new antibiotics need to be found. However, Thomas Bernhardt who is an associate professor of microbiology and immunobiology at Harvard Medical school have found out how penicillin attacks bacteria which can lead to new ways to prevent drug resistance. They found that penicillin not only block cell-wall assembly, but it sets in motion a toxic malfunctioning of the machinery to prevents the cell from producing a cell wall causing the cells to die because they don’t have the resources they need to survive.

In order to determine how penicillin and other similar drugs that are called beta-lactams that are naturally derived from antibiotics produced by fungi that evolved effective ways to kill bacteria, the researchers at Harvard used a specific derivative of penicillin that targets one enzyme in cell-wall assembly. They found that the cell was still killed by the penicillin that was targeting the nonessential enzyme. Therefore, the enzyme could be removed from the cells completely without harm, because if the enzymes were present, the cell would die. The enzyme that fights back against the beta-lactam is called beta-lactamases that slice the beta-lactam molecules and keep them from attaching to their targets to resist penicillin. Since this research has allowed the scientists to learn more about beta-lactams they will be able to find new ways to disrupt it in the future.

I found this article interesting because I am always getting sick and I have been on several antibiotics and I never understood how they worked. After reading this article, I see that scientists also didn’t know much about how they work either.

This Article : Penicillin tactics revealed by scientists