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Excerpt from phys.org
Food-borne diseases like typhoid, caused by Salmonella Typhimurium, are a severe threat to public health, especially in India. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics has allowed this bacterium to become resistant, posing a major hurdle in treating infections.
“Salmonella’s strategies to survive are par excellence. With an increase in antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella, it is just impossible to eradicate,” says Dipshikha Chakravortty, Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology (MCB), Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
In a recent study published in Redox Biology, she and her team have pinpointed how the bacterium uses a key molecule called spermidine to shield itself from the onslaught of the host’s defense machinery. They also find that an existing FDA-approved drug can reduce spermidine production, weakening the bacterium’s ability to cause infection.