In a report published by Lomakin et al in Nucleic Acids Research, investigators examined how sarecycline, a third-generation tetracycline derivative narrow-spectrum antibiotic against Cutibacterium acnes, may work as a treatment for acne vulgaris. They found that sarecycline binds to not one but two sites on the ribosome of C acnes, unlike other antibiotics. The two sites, the bS22 and bL37 proteins, may “have antimicrobial properties and may be involved in maintaining the healthy homeostasis of the human skin microbiome,” according to the study authors. In a companion press release from Yale University on the findings, senior author Christopher Bunick, MD, PhD, commented, “This is a huge step in the right direction towards pathogen-specific antibiotic development…. If we can understand sarecycline’s low propensity for antibiotic resistance in C acnes, that allows for the future development of even more targeted and safer antibiotics or other medicines with minimal resistance risk.”
June 08, 2023