A potential new antibiotic is making headlines this week as it harbors the promise to eradicate spirochetal disease, not only in people, but in animals as well. The upside? It doesn’t negatively affect native microbiomes.
History of Hygromycin
Hygromycin A was previously studied as an agent against swine dysentery in the 1980s.
Hygromycin, epihygromycin and a mixture thereof have potent inhibitory activity against Treponema hyodysenteriae and are useful for treatment of swine dysentery.
Use of hygromycin and epihygromycin in the treatment of swine dysentery – Patent EP-0213692-B1 – PubChem (nih.gov)
Better Vaccines
Because Hygromycin is so ineffective at killing other species of bacteria, it was employed in vaccine research for both existing and emerging diseases. The Hygromycin resistance marker has evolved into a common tool of the researchers available resources.
The hygromycin resistance vector was used to overexpress superoxide dismutase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in M. vaccae in a form suitable for detailed structural analysis. The potential use of this approach for generation of novel recombinant mycobacterial vaccines is discussed.
Transformation of mycobacterial species using hygromycin resistance as selectable marker | Microbiology Society (microbiologyresearch.org)
Best For Syphilis?
The latest research demonstrates that Hygromycin A may have best success against syphilis, an exciting prospect considering the resurgence in contemporary times.
“In our study, we find that hygromycin A has the highest activity against Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, with a MIC of 0.03 μg/mL.”
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674%2821%2901058-8
Human Trials
FlightPath, an American company, has filed for permission to begin human trials of Hygromycin-A in people. If information about public participation of a drug trial for this exciting new antibiotic surfaces, we’ll notify you through our social media outlets. For certain, today is an exciting day for chronic Lyme disease patients – and potentially even goats!
