(C) morgueFile & mconnors
テフロン加工のフライパンからヒントを得た研究が，薬物耐性菌の対策に役立ちそうだ。生物の体内で産生される抗菌ペプチドは，細菌やウイルス，真菌などに幅広く効果があるため，従来の抗生物質に代わる役割が期待されている。しかし，抗菌ペプチドは酵素に分解されやすく，粘着性があるために溶血が起こるなどの副作用が問題とされていた。そこで，粘着性のある部分をフライパンのようにフッ素化ポリマーで覆ったところ，酵素による分解を阻止できたというのだ。副作用の軽減など，臨床応用に向けた研究が期待されている。（吉田素子）
What do you get when you cross a frog with a frying pan(1)? Possibly a solution to the problem of drug-resistant bugs(2), research at the University of Michigan suggests.
By creating "Teflon(3)" versions of natural antibiotics(4) found in frog skin, a research team led by biological chemist(5) E. Neil Marsh has made the potential(6) drugs better at thwarting(7) bacterial(8) defenses, an improvement that could enhance(9) their effectiveness(10). Marsh will discuss the work Aug. 20 at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.
Marsh and collaborators(11) work with(12) compounds(13) called antimicrobial peptides(14) (AMPs), which are produced by virtually(15) all animals, from insects to frogs to humans.
Scientists have been interested in exploiting(16) these natural antibiotics since their discovery in the 1980s, but they haven't been able to overcome(17) some limitations(18). In particular(19), AMPs are easily broken down(20) by protein-degrading enzymes(21) (proteases(22)) that are secreted(23) by bacteria(24) and are also naturally present in the body. Increasing the concentration(25) of AMPs in an effort to(26) get around(27) that problem can cause toxic(28) side effects(29), such as the destruction of red blood cells(30)―those critical carriers(31) of oxygen(32) in the bloodstream(33). That seems to happen because sticky(34) parts of the AMP molecule(35) interact with(36) the cell membrane(37) in a harmful(38) way.
Marsh had the idea of replacing(39) sticky portions(40) of the peptides with nonstick(41) analogs(42). His inspiration(43) came from the kitchen as much as the chemistry(44) lab(45): nonstick cookware(46) is coated with(47) fluorinated polymers(48), plastic-like compounds composed of(49) chains of carbon atoms(50) completely surrounded by(51) fluorine atoms(52). The fluorine not only makes Teflon slippery(53), it also makes the coating inert(54) to almost every known chemical.
When Marsh and co-workers swapped(55) sticky parts of their AMP molecule with nonstick, fluorinated versions, the molecules became much more resistant to proteases.(1) フライパン (2) 薬物耐性菌 (3) テフロン (4) 抗生物質 (5) 生化学者 (6) 潜在的な (7) 阻止すること
(8) 細菌の (9) 増強する (10) 有効性 (11) 共同研究者 (12) ～を扱う (13) 化合物 (14) 抗菌ペプチド
(15) 実質的に (16) 活用すること (17) 乗り越える (18) 限界 (19) 特に (20) 分解される
(21) タンパク質分解酵素 (22)プロテアーゼ (23) 分泌される (24) 細菌 (25) 濃度 (26) ～するために
(27) ～を回避する (28) 中毒性の (29) 副作用 (30) 赤血球破壊（溶血） (31) 輸送体 (32) 酸素
(33) 血流 (34) 粘着性のある (35) 分子 (36) ～と作用する (37) 細胞膜 (38) 有害な (39) 置き換える
(40) 一部分 (41) テフロン加工の (42) 類似物 (43) ひらめき (44) 化学 (45) 実験室（＝laboratory）
(46) 調理器具 (47) ～でコーティングされた (48) フッ素化ポリマー (49) ～でできている (50) 炭素原子
(51) ～に囲まれた (52) フッ素化炭素 (53) ツルツルした (54) 不活性な (55) 取り替えた
