New treatment for chlamydia by Canadian researchers

Researchers at the University of Manitoba and the University of Waterloo have developed a new way to prevent and treat one of the most common badually transmitted infections (STIs). This new method is more of a gene therapy than an antibiotic therapy against infection. The results of the study describing the treatment were published in the last issue of the journal Scientific reports.

3D illustration of chlamydia. Credit: Tatiana Shepeleva / Shutterstock

The study was titled "The induction of autophagy and the inactivation of PDGFR-β by siRNA-encapsulated nanoparticles reduce Chlamydia trachomatis infection."

For this new study, researchers Sidi Yang, Yannick Traore, Celine Jimenez and Emmanuel A. Ho have experimented with gene therapy with the help of nanotechnology. The results showed a 65% success rate in preventing infection after a single dose of gene therapy. Emmanuel Ho, professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Waterloo and principal investigator, said, "As antibiotic resistance continues to develop, people can contract Chlamydia infections that can not be treated by conventional means. which poses more and more public health problems. If it is not treated or if the treatment lasts longer, it can result in infertility and other reproductive problems. It is therefore important to find new ways to treat this common infection. He explained that the FDA had recently approved the first "siRNA-based drug". and this may soon be available for use.

For this approach, the team targets Chlamydia infection by preventing bacteria from entering the cells of the bad mucosa. This approach also kills bacteria that have been able to enter the cells. The team used a small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) to target a gene called PDGFR-beta in the lining of the female bad tract. This gene is responsible for making a protein that eventually binds to the Chlamydia bacteria. Ho explained that if they targeted this gene, they could stop the production of the protein that Chamydia can use when it enters the female bad tract. "As a result, an incoming infection has fewer targets to control and an infection is less likely to occur," he said. The treatment goes even further. Chlamydia that have already entered the valleys are killed by the process of autophagy. The infected skin cells form a coating or bubble around the bacteria and kill it.

The authors conclude in their study that this new method has proved effective in laboratory situations. Further studies can prove its effectiveness in real scenarios. Recent data from Centers for Disease Prevention (CDC) show an increase in the incidence of STIs such as chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea and, with the increase in antibiotic resistance, treatment becomes difficult. If this gene therapy is successful, new ways of managing STIs may open up.