Wasp venom repurposed as antibiotic drug

Variants of a peptide normally found in wasp venom could have applications as an antibiotic drug for humans.   

Engineers from MIT studied antimicrobial properties of a toxin normally found in a South American wasp. They then created variants of a peptide that are potent against bacteria but nontoxic to human cells.

Cesar de la Fuenter-Nunez, an MIT postdoc, said: “We’ve repurposed a toxic molecule into one that is a viable molecule to treat infections.

“By systematically analysing the structure and function of these peptides, we’ve been able to tune their properties and activity.”

To test their toxicity, researchers exposed the peptides to human embryonic kidney cells grown in a lab dish. They selected the most promising compounds to test in mice infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common source of respiratory and urinary tract infections.

Researchers found that several of the peptides could reduce the infection, while one of them given at a high dose could eliminate Pseudomonas aeruginosa completely.  They have begun creating additional variants that they hope will clear infections at lower doses. De la Fuenter-Nunez also plans to apply this approach to other types of naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides.

"I do think some of the principles that we've learned here can be applicable to other similar peptides that are derived from nature," he said. "Things like helicity and hydrophobicity are very important for a lot of these molecules, and some of the rules that we've learned here can definitely be extrapolated."

The MIT team’s research paper appears in Nature Communications Biology.