Salve Regina researchers fighting emerging health crisis of Olympic proportion

NEWPORT – Susan Meschwitz, an assistant professor of chemistry at Salve Regina University, has had peer-reviewed research, which was co-authored by chemistry major Emily Poulin, published recently. Their research, which discovered that a class of organic molecules are proving effective in the battle against drug-resistant bacteria, could interest the members of Olympic sailing, triathlon and rowing teams competing in polluted waters at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. Poulin, a rising senior for 2016-17, will continue researching with Meschwitz during this academic year, and plans to study chemical engineering in graduate school.

Their research findings, published July 25 in the journal “Molecules” by MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) has the potential to impact modern medicine as misuse and overuse of antibiotics have led to the development of widespread drug-resistant bacteria.

Salve Regina reported that these findings may have worldwide consequences for an emerging health crisis currently highlighted by the risks that athletes competing in water-based competitions at the Summer Olympics. Scientists there have reported dangerous contamination in Rio’s waters, from rotaviruses that may cause diarrhea and vomiting to drug-resistant “super bacteria” that can be fatal to individuals with weakened immune systems.

“The rise of drug-resistant bacteria that are extremely difficult to treat has emerged as a major threat to public health,” Meschwitz said in a news release. “The failure of existing antibiotics to control infection makes it crucial to find alternatives to currently available drugs.”

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Meschwitz and Poulin are interested in organic molecules as an effective alternative to currently available drugs. “Many pathogenic bacteria rely on a communication system known as quorum sensing to help them establish infection in a host,” Meschwitz said. “This quorum sensing communication system is controlled by small molecules called auto-inducers, which coordinate collective behaviors and allow the bacteria to attack as a group rather than as a single cell, thus overpowering the host immune system. We have discovered that a class of molecules known as beta-keto esters are capable of inhibiting quorum sensing and we anticipate that these molecules will provide a new lead in the development of novel antibacterial therapeutics.”

Finding alternatives to current drugs is essential, given the failure of existing antibiotics to control infections. The World Health Organization has recently categorized multidrug resistant bacteria as one of the top three threats to human health.

For more information on this study, email Susan.meschwitz@salve.edu or call (401) 341-3121.

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