Although meropenem, piperacillin and tazobactam are not effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus individually, together, the trio of antibiotics can kill this deadly pathogen, according to a study published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
As part of the study, researchers tested and genetically analyzed 73 different hospital-acquired and community-acquired strains of the MRSA microbe. They then treated the various MRSA bugs in test tubes with a combination of the three antibiotics, all of which are beta-lactams that have not been effective against MRSA for decades.
Ultimately, the researchers found that the treatment worked in every case.
In another experiment, the team found the three drugs cured MRSA-infected mice and was as effective against the pathogen as one of the strongest antibiotics currently on the market.
According to principal investigator Gautam Dantas, PhD, an associate professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the drug combination not only treated MRSA, it didn't produce resistance to the bacteria.
"We started with MRSA because it's such a difficult bug to treat," said Dr. Dantas. "But we are optimistic the same type of approach may work against other deadly pathogens, such as Pseudomonas and certain virulent forms of E. coli."
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