What causes antibiotic resistance? - Kevin Wu

Kaj povzroča odpornost proti antibiotokom? - Kevin Wu

Translator: Klavdija Cernilogar Reviewer: Matej Divjak

What if I told you there were trillions of tiny bacteria all around you?

Če bi dejala, da je okoli vas na bilijone majcenih bakterij, bi verjeli?

It's true.

To drži!

Microorganisms called bacteria were some of the first life forms

Mikroorganizmi, ki jim pravimo bakterije, so se na Zemlji pojavili

to appear on Earth.

med prvimi oblikami življenja.

Though they consist of only a single cell,

Čeprav so enoceličarji,

their total biomass is greater than that of all plants and animals combined.

je njihova skupna biomasa večja od vseh rastlin in živali skupaj.

And they live virtually everywhere:

In živijo skoraj povsod:

on the ground, in the water,

na tleh, v vodi,

on your kitchen table, on your skin,

na kuhinjski mizi, na koži,

even inside you.

celo v vašem telesu so.

Don't reach for the panic button just yet.

Ampak brez panike.

Although you have 10 times more bacterial cells inside you

Čeprav imate v telesu desetkrat več bakterijskih celic,

kot ima vaše telo človeških celic,

than your body has human cells,

many of these bacteria are harmless or even beneficial,

so mnoge od njih neškodljive ali celo koristne,

helping digestion and immunity.

saj pomagajo pri prebavi in imunskem sistemu.

But there are a few bad apples that can cause harmful infections,

Je pa med njimi nekaj plevela, ki povzroča škodljive okužbe,

from minor inconveniences to deadly epidemics.

od majhnih težav do smrtonosnih epidemij.

Fortunately, there are amazing medicines designed to fight bacterial infections.

Na srečo obstajajo odlična zdravila, ki se borijo proti bakterijskim okužbam.

Synthesized from chemicals or occurring naturally in things like mold,

Nekatera so narejena iz kemikalij, druga so iz naravnih snovi, kot so plesni,

these antibiotics kill or neutralize bacteria

vsi ti antibiotiki pa ubijejo ali nevtralizirajo bakterije,

by interrupting cell wall synthesis

saj ustavijo sintezo celične stene

or interfering with vital processes like protein synthesis,

ali vplivajo na pomembne procese, kot je sinteza beljakovin,

all while leaving human cells unharmed.

in pri tem pustijo človeške celice nepoškodovane.

Zaradi uporabe antibiotikov v 20. stoletju

The deployment of antibiotics over the course of the 20th century

has rendered many previously dangerous diseases easily treatable.

veliko nekoč nevarnih bolezni zdaj brez težav pozdravimo.

But today, more and more of our antibiotics

Vendar pa vse več antibiotikov

are becoming less effective.

postaja manj učinkovitih.

Did something go wrong to make them stop working?

Je šlo kaj narobe, da ne delujejo več?

The problem is not with the antibiotics but the bacteria they were made to fight,

Težava niso antibiotiki, ampak bakterije, proti katerim se borijo,

and the reason lies in Darwin's theory of natural selection.

razlog pa pojasni Darwinova teorija naravne selekcije.

Just like any other organisms,

Kot vsi drugi organizmi

individual bacteria can undergo random mutations.

posamezne bakterije naključno mutirajo.

Many of these mutations are harmful or useless,

Veliko teh mutacij je nevarnih ali nepotrebnih,

but every now and then, one comes along that gives its organism

a vsake toliko časa se pojavi taka, ki organizmu

an edge in survival.

omogoči prednost pri preživetju.

And for a bacterium,

In za bakterijo

a mutation making it resistant to a certain antibiotic

je mutacija, po kateri postane odporna na določen antibiotik,

gives quite the edge.

pomembna prednost.

Ko neodporne bakterije odmrejo,

As the non-resistant bacteria are killed off,

kar se hitro zgodi v okoljih z veliko antibiotiki,

which happens especially quickly in antibiotic-rich environments,

kot so bolnišnice,

like hospitals,

there is more room and resources for the resistant ones to thrive,

ostane več prostora in virov za tiste, ki so odporne,

passing along only the mutated genes that help them do so.

te pa posredujejo naprej samo mutirane gene, ki krepijo odpornost.

Reproduction isn't the only way to do this.

Razmnoževanje pa ni edini način za to.

Some can release their DNA upon death to be picked up by other bacteria,

Nekatere ob odmrtju sprostijo svoj DNA, ki ga poberejo druge bakterije,

while others use a method called conjugation,

spet druge pa uporabijo metodo po imenu konjugacija,

connecting through pili to share their genes.

povežejo se z bički in tako si delijo gene.

Over time, the resistant genes proliferate,

Sčasoma se odporni geni razmnožijo

creating entire strains of resistant super bacteria.

in ustvarijo cele seve odpornih superbakterij.

So how much time do we have before these superbugs take over?

In koliko časa imamo, preden superbakterije zavladajo svetu?

Well, in some bacteria, it's already happened.

No, pri nekaterih bakterijah se je to že zgodilo.

For instance, some strands of staphylococcus aureus,

Nekatere podvrste zlatega stafilokoka,

which causes everything from skin infections to pneumonia and sepsis,

ki povzročajo vnetja kože, pljučnico ali celo sepso,

so se razvile v MRSA

have developed into MRSA,

becoming resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics,

in postale odporne na betalaktamske antibiotike,

kot so penicilin, meticilin in oksacilin.

like penicillin, methicillin, and oxacillin.

Thanks to a gene that replaces the protein beta-lactams normally target and bind to,

Zaradi gena, ki nadomesti beljakovino, ki jo ponavadi napadejo betalaktami,

MRSA can keep making its cell walls unimpeded.

lahko MRSA brez ovir gradi svoje celične stene.

Other super bacteria, like salmonella,

Druge superbakterije, kot je salmonela,

even sometimes produce enzymes like beta-lactams

včasih proizvedejo encime, podobne betalaktamom,

that break down antibiotic attackers before they can do any damage,

ki razgradijo napadalne antibiotike, preden lahko ti napravijo škodo,

and E. coli, a diverse group of bacteria

in E. coli, raznolika skupina bakterij,

that contains strains that cause diarrhea and kidney failure,

ki vsebuje seve, ki povzročajo diarejo in odpoved ledvic,

can prevent the function of antibiotics,

lahko preprečijo delovanje antibiotikov,

like quinolones, by actively booting any invaders

kot so kvinoloni, saj onesposobijo vsiljivce,

that manage to enter the cell.

ki jim uspe prodreti v celico.

But there is good news.

Imamo pa tudi dobre vesti.

Scientists are working to stay one step ahead of the bacteria,

Znanstveniki se trudijo biti vsaj korak pred bakterijami

and although development of new antibiotics

in čeprav je razvoj novih antibiotikov

has slowed in recent years,

v zadnjih letih počasnejši,

the World Health Organization has made it a priority to develop novel treatments.

je razvoj novih zdravil prednostna naloga Svetovne zdravstvene organizacije.

Other scientists are investigating alternate solutions,

Drugi znanstveniki iščejo alternativne rešitve,

such as phage therapy or using vaccines to prevent infections.

kot je terapija s fagi ali preventivna uporaba cepiv.

Most importantly, curbing the excessive and unnecessary use of antibiotics,

A zmanjšanje pretirane in nepotrebne rabe antibiotikov

such as for minor infections that can resolve on their own,

za manjše okužbe, ki se lahko pozdravijo same,

as well as changing medical practice to prevent hospital infections,

ter nove prakse v zdravstvu, ki bi preprečile okužbe v bolnišnicah,

can have a major impact

lahko izjemno vplivajo

by keeping more non-resistant bacteria alive

na to, da ostane živih več neodpornih bakterij,

as competition for resistant strains.

saj so konkurenca odpornim.

V boju proti superbakterijam je zmanjševanje napetosti

In the war against super bacteria, deescalation may sometimes work better

včasih boljše od evolucijske oborožitvene tekme.

than an evolutionary arms race.