New Delhi: Researchers at the University of Texas in the United States have modified a naturally-produced antibiotic using artificial intelligence (AI) and developed a version safe for human use — a development that is being called “revolutionary” for tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR), The paper, published last week in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering , said that the research team employed a large language model (LLM), similar to the technology behind ChatGPT, to re-engineer Protegrin-1, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide. This well-known antibiotic, naturally produced by pigs, is effective in killing bacteria. However, previously, it was too toxic for human use because apart from bacterial cells, it also targeted membranes of healthy cells in the body.
The researchers modified Protegrin-1 with the aim to preserve its antibacterial properties while eliminating its harmful effects on human cells. To achieve this, the researchers generated more than 7,000 variations of Protegrin-1 through a deep mutational SLAY analysis, a high-throughput method which allowed them to quickly identify which modifications could enhance safety. After this, they used the LLM to evaluate these variations for their ability to selectively target bacterial membranes, effectively kill bacteria, and avoid harming human red blood cells.
This AI-guided approach led to the creation of a refined version known as bacterially selective Protegrin-1.2 (bsPG-1.2).
In preliminary animal tr.