Komodo dragon key to fight superbugs

In a news that may sound straight out of a Hogwarts’ class on potions (From the Harry Potter series), blood of komodo dragons may help fight superbugs.

The giant lizards live in bacteria-rich environments, but rarely fall ill, suggesting they have strong innate immunity.

A team of researchers from George Mason University in the US used a new technique to find and sort through hundreds of peptides in komodo dragon Tujah’s blood, who lives in a zoo in Florida.

The team identified a peptide in Tujah’s blood that showed a promising combination of antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties. They rearranged the peptide’s tiny building blocks to create a modified, synthetic version of the dragon’s peptide, calling it “DRGN-1” in honour of the Komodo dragon.

“DRGN-1 has been altered to be stronger in terms of both potency and stability,” said Monique van Hoek, microbiologist, George Mason University, US.  It is able to attack the sticky biofilm that protects the bacteria and helps them grow in wounds.

The next steps for DRGN-1 are to develop it into wound-healing products for veterinary medicine before moving to products designed for humans, researchers said.

PEPTIDE TALK

Peptides are small protein-like molecules, and some act at the forefront of our body’s innate immune system. They are the molecules battling infections until antibodies are made.