In this discussion, Nathalie Balaban, a Professor at the Hebrew University and an expert in antibiotic resistance, delves into the alarming mechanisms behind bacterial resistance. She explains how bacteria can enter a dormant state, allowing them to evade antibiotics and potentially develop multi-drug resistance. The conversation highlights the importance of understanding these dynamics for improving clinical treatments, advocating for personalized drug combinations, and enhancing immune engagement in therapies to combat this pressing medical challenge.
17:13
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Pre-resistance Mutations
Some bacterial mutations don't directly confer resistance but promote it.
These mutations, or even just changes in bacteria behavior, enable dormancy.
insights INSIGHT
Dormancy and Resistance
Dormancy lets bacteria survive antibiotics by not actively dividing.
Once antibiotic concentration drops, dormant bacteria can revive, grow, and develop resistance.
insights INSIGHT
Immunosuppression and Tolerance
A patient's immunosuppression is a key factor in bacterial tolerance.
A strong immune system aids antibiotics and prevents tolerance from evolving into resistance.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Ever since the discovery of antibiotics, microbiologists have worried about and studied how bacteria acquire resistance to these drugs. Adding to the complexity of this problem is the fact that it is not always clear whether the conditions that drive the evolution of resistance in the lab occur in patients suffering from bacterial infections.
This is where the work of Nathalie Balaban -- Professor at the Hebrew University, and our guest on this episode -- comes in. The article we discuss is based on a foundation of research done in her laboratory, but this study makes the important step into the clinic by using samples from a patient with a life-threatening bacterial (MRSA) infection. By analyzing these patient samples, Dr. Balaban and her team were able to understand the conditions that lead to multi-drug resistance in a hospital setting. The work reveals how the ability of bacteria to enter a state of dormancy, also known as tolerance, can act as a stepping stone to resistance and can interfere with the efficacy of drug combinations. Our conversation covers what tolerance is, the conditions that promote tolerance, how it can lead to resistance and impact drug combination therapies, and lastly, integrating this new understanding into clinical microbiology protocols.
a16z bio Journal Club (part of the a16z Podcast), curates and covers recent advances from the scientific literature -- what papers we’re reading, and why they matter from our perspective at the intersection of biology & technology (for bio journal club). You can find all these episodes at a16z.com/journalclub.
a16z Podcast