Escherichia coli normally lives in the gut of healthy people, but can also cause infections. A recent study has shown that certain molecules can increase the bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics. (Image credit: CAVALLINI JAMES/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Caffeine may help some bacteria prevent antibiotics from entering their cells, potentially reducing the drugs' therapeutic effects, according to a new lab study.
However, experts caution that it is unclear how these effects might play out in humans, so caffeine lovers should not panic.
Scientists have known for decades that bacteria can defend themselves by pumping toxic substances through specialized transport proteins in their shells, a capability that helps them resist the effects of drugs that might otherwise kill them. But it has been unclear how bacteria change the activity of the genes that code for these transport proteins in response to the molecules they encounter.
You may like
-
Doctors can effectively combat antibiotic resistance and save lives by tracking the evolution of superbugs in real time, a study has found.
-
How the battle between viruses and bacteria could help us defeat superbugs
Sourse: www.livescience.com
