Secondary infections caused by bacteria or viruses arising during in-hospital care remain a long-sta..

Secondary infections in hospitals, fatal to hospitalized patients
Antibiotics and existing vaccines are often not communicated.
Bioengineering Research on New Concepts Immunomodulators
New Infection Prevention Methods to Improve Immunity Before Infection

사진 확대 [Pixabay]

Secondary infections caused by bacteria or viruses arising during in-hospital care remain a long-standing challenge for the global medical community despite advances in modern medicine.

In particular, bacterial and viral complex infections that occur in critically ill patients with weakened immune systems are not only extremely difficult to treat but also a fatal factor in increasing mortality.

In recent years, the number of resistant bacteria disabled by antibiotics has increased rapidly, and it is difficult to respond to virus infections that are frequently mutated with existing vaccines alone.

To overcome these limitations, strategies to activate our body’s immunity before infection to prepare us to respond to pathogens immediately are attracting attention.

This is not a method of directly attacking specific bacteria or viruses, but a strategy that creates a state of readiness so that immune cells in the body can respond faster and more strongly in the event of a crisis.

Based on this concept, Dr. Ryu Choong-min and Dr. Seo Hwi-won’s research team at the Infectious Disease Research Center at the Korea Biotechnology Research Institute proposed a new concept of infection prevention strategy that preemptively activates innate immunity by using substances that have been used as pharmaceutical ingredients.

This study focused on the fact that DDM (n-dodecyl-β-D-Maltoside), known only as an adjuvant to help stabilize ingredients in drug manufacturing, can act as an immunomodulator to awaken the body’s immune system.

In order to confirm the effectiveness of DDM in preventing infection, the research team previously administered the substance to experimental animals a day before infection with pathogens. As a result of subsequent exposure to highly pathogenic antibiotic-resistant bacteria and flu viruses, the DDM-administered group survived 100% and showed a distinct defensive effect, unlike the control group that all died.

Mechanical studies have shown that DDM, unlike conventional treatments that directly attack pathogens, quickly mobilizes neutrophils, a key cell of innate immunity in the body, to the site of infection and activates them.

In the event of an infection, neutrophils quickly gather to the site of infection, and effectively eliminate pathogens by maximizing phagocytosis and bactericidal function that eats invading pathogens. These neutrophil activities are not always maintained but selectively only upon pathogen invasion, and no excessive inflammatory responses or adverse effects were observed in the absence of infection.

The researchers explain that this study is significant in that it presents a precise immune preparation strategy that controls immunity to work accurately only at the moment it is needed, rather than an unconditional way to strengthen immunity.

This demonstrates the possibility of a universal infection prevention approach that does not rely on specific pathogens at a time when antibiotic resistance issues and the risk of new infectious diseases are growing simultaneously.

In particular, it suggests the possibility of being used as a new preventive strategy to protect infected groups such as intensive care unit patients, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals.

Dr. Seo Hwi-won, the research director, said, “This study is meaningful in that it is a new infection response strategy that helps our body respond to complex infections by promoting immunity. We expect it to develop into a universal infection prevention strategy that can prepare for unpredictable threats such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria and novel viruses.”

Meanwhile, the results of this study are E-Bio, a sister paper of the Lancet, the most prestigious place in basic medicineIt was published in eBioMedicine on the 29th of last month and was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s bio and medical technology development project and major projects of Life Insurance Research Institute.