Kary Mullis, who won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of PCR (polymerase chain reaction), presents a brief overview of his novel strategy to combat bacterial infections in the body.

The foundation of Dr. Mullis’s revolutionary idea is based on the alpha-Gal epitope. This molecule is recognized by human bodies as a foreign object and will trigger an immune response against it. So, if one were able to link the alpha-Gal epitope to a target bacterial pathogen, the presence of this foreign molecule would theoretically recruit the body’s immune system to attack both the epitope and the bacteria of interest.

The alpha-Gal epitope would first be attached to a molecule called an aptamer, which is engineered to bind any target pathogen of interest. The beauty of this concept is the versatility to design drugs against a myriad of bacteria. Moreover, it serves as a multi-pronged defense mechanism: there is the army of immune cells against the bacteria, and additional reinforcements from immune cells directed against the alpha-Gal epitope (and indirectly against the target bacteria).

Dr. Mullis slips in a comment that he does not particularly like Staphylococcus aureus, because it had killed a professor-friend of his. This was the unfortunate outcome despite use of potent antibiotics. In this day and age when multi-drug resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly prevalent, it is refreshing to learn that new mechanisms for combating infectious diseases are under way. My colleagues and I strive to practice judicious use of antibiotics to partially stem the selective growth of the hardy, drug-resistant pathogens. On the other hand, the numbers of people I encounter who are colonized with MRSA (methicillin-resistant S. aureus) can be humbling. Not to be an alarmist, but the vancomycins and linezolids (antibiotics) of the world cannot hold down the fort forever.