The Immunomodulatory Drug Glatiramer Acetate is Also an Effective Antimicrobial Agent that Kills Gram-negative BacteriaOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
Whether glatiramer acetate, an immunomodulatory MS drug, also has direct antimicrobial activity, and against which bacteria.
Who was studied?
A laboratory panel of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria exposed to glatiramer acetate in vitro.
What were the key findings?
Glatiramer acetate killed Gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella, by permeabilizing their membranes much like a cationic antimicrobial peptide; Gram-positive species were far less affected.
What are the implications?
Part of glatiramer's benefit may be antimicrobial, reshaping communities enriched in Gram-negative Proteobacteria, a group prominent in the MS gut signature.