Recurring Urinary Tract Infection Solution: Scientists Use Whole-Cell Vaccines To Solve Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Scientists are investigating the use of whole-cell vaccines against recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Researchers at the University of Texas in Dallas demonstrated the use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to encapsulate and inactivate bacterial cells to make a storehouse that will allow vaccines to last longer in the body.

The study titled "Metal-Organic Framework Encapsulated Whole-Cell Vaccines Enhance Humoral Immunity Against Bacterial Infection," published in the American Chemical Society's journal ACS Nano, showed that the mice produced enhanced antibodies and significantly improved survival rates compared to standard whole-cell vaccine methods.

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Scientists Use Whole-Cell Vaccines Against Recurring UTI to Solve Issues of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Cause Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection

According to Harvard Health Publishing, there is a global crisis of antibiotic resistance, and UTI may be an indicator of a bigger problem. It is one of the most common types of infections in which 50% of women and 10% of men will experience it in their lifetime.

Doctors would usually prescribe antibiotics, such as trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim) or ciprofloxacin (Cipro), to treat UTI to kill the bacteria. But recent years have shown that it has become harder to treat with common antibiotics.

A New York Times article reported that one in three UTIs in young, healthy women are resistant to Bactrim, and one in five are resistant to five other common antibiotics. Doctors said there are many reasons for becoming antibiotic-resistant, but the top two reasons are giving antibiotics to animals and antibiotic overuse in humans.

Experts remind that antibiotics can be lifesaving when needed but can also kill good bacteria when not needed. It will put the body's bacteria under intense pressure to survive and evolve to avoid antibiotics. Soon, they become antibiotic-resistant and can attack the body freely and sometimes win.

ALSO READ: How Do Antibiotic-Resistant Germs Bring Toxins to Other Cells? Scientists Explain

Creating Whole-Cell Vaccines Against Recurring UTI

Researchers have been developing whole-cell vaccines that will target antibiotic-resistant bacteria and UTI is an excellent model to try it, Phys.org reported. According to the researchers, the vaccines work by introducing a small amount of dead or weakened pathogens or some of their components to the body that will trigger the immune system to produce antibodies against the bacteria.

The team noted that creating a vaccine against pathogenic bacteria is challenging because they are significantly more extensive and more complex than viruses. More so, it has been a challenge in selecting which components to use to create antigens. In the end, they chose to use the entire cell than just selecting a piece of a bacterium.

However, it comes with some issues as well. They do not last long enough in the body to produce long-term, durable immune responses, so they decided to develop a metal-organic framework (MOF) antigen depot that will allow an intact, dead pathogen to exist in tissue longer to trigger a full-scale immune system response.

The MOF team developed encapsulates and inactivates a bacterium in a crystalline polymeric matric that kills, preserves, and stabilizes the dead cell against high temperature, moisture, and organic solvents. When they tested it in their mice models, they saw that vaccinated mice survived from E. coli, the bacteria that causes 80% of all community-acquired UTI.