Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Researchers Take Atomic Look at Family of Proteins that Aid in Antibiotic Resistance

By Kenny Walter | November 15, 2018

Antibiotic (green) bound to the VIM enzyme (solid surface). Credit: University of Bristol

A research team from the University of Bristol is unlocking a crucial mechanism of antibiotic resistance in an effort to find new ways to block the growing threat of resistance.

A family of bacterial protein called the Verona Imipenemase (VIM) beta-lactamases is known to cause a form of antibiotic resistance that is particularly concerning because it can inactivate antibiotics like penicillin that comprise over half of the global antibacterial market. However, in the new study, the researchers uncovered near-atomic level structural detail of VIM proteins, a discovery that could yield new approaches to thwart antibiotic resistance.

“Our work explains how the products of one family of resistance genes recognize penicillin-type antibiotics and suggests routes to blocking this resistance in future treatments,” Jim Spencer, PhD, Reader in Microbiology in the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol, said in a statement.

The VIM proteins protect bacteria from beta-lactams by binding and subsequently inactivating them to prevent their attack on target bacteria. To block the VIM protein mediated resistance, the researchers zeroed in on identifying exactly how they bind to the antibiotics.

“We sought to understand how VIM recognizes its target antibiotics,” Spencer said.

To determine the protein’s atomic arrangement, the researchers fired high intensity X-rays produced in particle accelerators called synchrotrons at the protein and observed the way in which the X-rays are scattered.

Surprising variation has been previously identified in two specific regions of VIM proteins, making it difficult to explain how different VIM family members could all bind antibiotics. By collecting near-atomic level crystallographic data on one VIM protein family member, the research team was able to identify a key component of the antibiotic binding mechanism.

They also compared the structure of one of the family members with other VIM protein family members to confirm the identified component to be a common feature within the entire family.

“The VIM beta-lactamases are a family of enzymes that vary from one another in the region responsible for antibiotic binding; our work explains how antibiotics can bind to different types of VIM beta-lactamase despite these variations,” Spencer said. “Knowledge of the mechanisms by VIM beta-lactamases bind antibiotics will enable researchers to replicate these interactions in molecules designed to block their activity, and so reverse antibiotic resistance.”

The researchers are now attempting to design molecules that bind to the VIM proteins.

Related Articles Read More >

Eli Lilly facility
9 R&D developments this week: Lilly builds major R&D center, Stratolaunch tests hypersonic craft, IBM chief urges AI R&D funding
professional photo of wooly mammoth in nature --ar 2:1 --personalize sq85hce --v 6.1 Job ID: 47185eaa-b213-4624-8bee-44f9e882feaa
Why science ethicists are sounding skepticism and alarm on ‘de-extinction’
ALAFIA system speeds complex molecular simulations for University of Miami drug research
3d rendered illustration of the anatomy of a cancer cell
Funding flows to obesity, oncology and immunology: 2024 sales data show where science is paying off
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE