College StationImmune cells flood infections with copper to kill bacteria.
Antibiotic-resistant urinary infections are surging, and copper offers a target that isn’t an antibiotic.
Texas A&M researchers found resistant E. coli survive by pumping the copper back out through dedicated efflux pumps.
The work is in cells and animals so far, with no drug yet built to block the pump.
How each outlet framed it
- Phys.org
- foregrounds copper as immune weapon, frames research toward enhancing immune response to copper rather than alternative antibiotics
Sources: Phys.org