As antibiotic resistance grows, researchers turn to copper to fight infections
Researchers at Texas A&M are studying how the human immune system utilizes copper to combat bacterial infections like UTIs. The goal is to understand how bacteria resist this natural defense to develop new therapies that enhance the body's ability to fight antibiotic-resistant infections.
Why it matters
As antibiotic resistance becomes a global crisis, identifying alternative biological mechanisms for fighting infections is vital for future medical treatments.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Andrew Zinin
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Add as preferred source Dr. Sarguru Subash and Veerakit Vanitshavit study how the immune system uses copper to fight bacterial infections and how bacteria adapt to survive those defenses. Credit: Texas A&M University When bacteria invade the urinary tract, the body has its own arsenal for fighting back. Among those weapons is an unlikely tool: copper. Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) are investigating how the body uses the essential trace mineral to fight urinary tract infections (UTIs), how bacteria manage to survive that attack and whether those discoveries could eventually lead to new ways of treating infections that are increasingly difficult to control with antibiotics.
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