North Raleigh Today

Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine have discovered that antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, specifically Staphylococcus aureus, are more likely to develop in diabetic environments. This finding is significant as diabetes impairs the body's ability to control blood sugar and fight infections.

The study, conducted by microbiologists Brian Conlon, PhD, and Lance Thurlow, PhD, highlights how the diabetic microbial environment can lead to resistant mutations. "We found that antibiotic resistance emerges much more rapidly in diabetic models than in non-diabetic models of disease," said Conlon. He noted that this interaction between bacteria and diabetes could drive the rapid evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance.

Diabetes causes excess glucose to accumulate in the bloodstream, which Staph bacteria use to reproduce quickly. This condition also weakens the immune system's ability to fight infections. As a result, random mutations that build up resistance become more common in a diabetic infection environment.

Thurlow explained that once a resistant mutation occurs in such an environment, it can quickly dominate due to high glucose levels and an impaired immune response. "Staphylococcus aureus is uniquely suited to take advantage of this diabetic environment," he said.

The researchers used a mouse model for their study. They divided mice into two groups: one group was made diabetic through a compound affecting pancreatic cells, while the other group remained non-diabetic. Both groups were infected with S. aureus and treated with rifampicin, an antibiotic known for its high rate of resistance development.

After five days, they observed that rifampicin had little effect on the diabetic models due to rapid bacterial resistance development. In contrast, no resistant bacteria were found in non-diabetic models.

Their findings suggest controlling blood sugar through insulin could help prevent antibiotic resistance by depriving bacteria of their energy source. "Controlling blood glucose then becomes really important," Conlon stated.

Conlon and Thurlow plan further research on antibiotic resistance evolution in humans with diabetes and other conditions like chemotherapy or organ transplants.