This sentinel protein … only becomes active when it detects a beta-lactams\u00a0antibiotic.\u00a0It\u2019s almost as if the antibiotic sets off an alarm bell and the protein leaps into action. — Xiaohui Zhou<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This protein acts as a sentinel and when it detects the presence of antibiotics in the beta-lactams family \u2013 widely-used drugs that include penicillins and cephalosporins that are traditionally effective in fighting bacterial disease \u2013 it alerts the bacteria to produce an antibiotic-fighting enzyme called beta-lactamase.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s when the eternal battle between disease-causing bacteria and the antibiotics designed to kill them begins in earnest. It\u2019s like a cat-and-mouse game, where the bacteria takes the role of the mouse as it develops ways to outsmart the crafty opponent that\u2019s intent on hunting it down.<\/p>\n
The beta-lactamase\u00a0enzyme works to degrade \u2013 or effectively disable \u2013 the antibiotic, and prevents it from penetrating the bacteria\u2019s cell wall.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s not all.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the most intriguing findings coming out of our research is that histidine kinase \u2013 this sentinel protein \u2013 is not awake all the time. It only becomes active when it detects a beta-lactams\u00a0antibiotic, \u201csays Zhou, an assistant professor in UConn\u2019s Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science, who conducted the research with UConn pathobiologist Mazhar Khan and researchers in China.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s almost as if the antibiotic sets off an alarm bell and the protein leaps into action.”<\/p>\n
The researchers don\u2019t yet know the mechanism for this reaction, but now they\u00a0know\u00a0that this sensor exists, they\u00a0will work on a way to disable it by developing drugs that can desensitize the bacteria \u2013 so that it doesn\u2019t respond to the alarm.<\/p>\n
“By combining new desensitizing drugs with existing antibiotics that are known to be effective,” says Zhou, “we can continue to use these tried and true drugs to combat disease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zhou explains that over time, through mutation of their genetic material or other adaptations caused by repeated exposure to a particular antibiotic, bacteria can develop a resistance to antibiotics that have previously\u00a0been effective.<\/p>\n
This antibiotic resistance has reached a point where it is a public health concern across the globe. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) put the number of people in the United States who become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria at some two million annually, with nearly 23,000 dying from previously treatable diseases.<\/p>\n
The researchers have determined that this histidine kinase protein is widely present in all vibrio species, including V. cholerae,<\/em> the organism responsible for cholera, an acute diarrheal infection that affects millions of people annually due to the consumption of tainted food or water. Administration of effective antibiotics can be an important part of the treatment protocol, especially in Third World countries where sanitation is often\u00a0a problem.<\/p>\nThere are many types of bacteria in addition to those in the vibrio family, however, and not all of them have the same type histidine kinase proteins. Further research into these bacteria is on the horizon, with the hoped-for\u00a0result being new drugs that can outsmart the competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UConn researchers have identified a sentinel protein that helps explain why some antibiotics don\u2019t work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":108819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2231,2225],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1935],"class_list":["post-108780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-well-being","category-uconn-storrs"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-14 05:29:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108780"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109273,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108780\/revisions\/109273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/108819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108780"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=108780"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=108780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}