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Washington University in St. Louis has released a new study stating that a chemical commonly used in commercial products against bacteria, such as toothpaste and mouthwash, could actually make bacteria resistant to antibiotics.
The results, published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy, show that triclosan, a chemical, strengthens the bacteria and allows it to survive even better with strong antibiotic treatment, EurekAlert reported Thursday.
Triclosan is also present in cosmetics, clothing, baby toys and credit cards. Manufacturers are adding this chemical to products to reduce or prevent bacterial growth.
Tests in mice show that exposure to triclosan limits the body's ability to respond to antibiotic treatment, especially those used for urinary tract infection.
"Triclosan has dramatically increased the number of surviving bacterial cells," said Petra Levin, a professor of biology at Arts and Sciences. He explained that this chemical reduced the number of bacteria capable of surviving antibiotics, passing from one in a million cells to one in ten. Triclosan simply allows bacteria to avoid death through antibiotics.
Treatments clinically considered unique in how they destroy cells were also less effective at killing triclosan-exposed bacteria. Levin warned that the exposure could last a long time and lead to longer resistance to antibiotics because "triclosan remains a long time in the body and in the environment".
The chemical uses a cell growth inhibitor, called ppGpp, to make cells less susceptible to antibiotics. The molecule blocks the biosynthetic pathways that make DNA, RNA, protein and fat from new cells. "If triclosan triggers ppGpp, biosynthesis is reduced and bactericidal antibiotics become ineffective at killing cells," the researchers said.
The team confirmed the results with Escherichia coli mutants who are unable to do ppGpp and compared them to E. coli who is able to create the molecule. Those who did not have ppGpp suppressed the ability of triclosan to protect cells against bactericidal antibiotics.
Levin said clinical studies are needed to further confirm their findings regarding the ability of triclosan to interfere with antibiotic treatments in humans. "I hope this study will serve as a warning that will help us rethink the importance of antimicrobials in consumer products," he said.
In 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration had already raised safety concerns related to the use of this chemical.
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