Researchers at Lund University in Sweden, have in collaboration with colleagues in Copenhagen and Singapore, mapped how the body's own peptides act to reduce infection and inflammation by deactivating the toxic substances formed in the process. The study is published in Nature Communications and the researchers believe their discovery could lead to new drugs against infection and inflammation, for example in wound healing.
The toxins that are neutralised, known as lipopolysaccharides (LPS), come from the bacterial cell walls and generate an inflammatory reaction. The reaction is a necessary part of our immune defence system in which our bodies respond quickly and fight invasive bacteria. However, it can be over-activated and become harmful, as observed in infected skin wounds, infections in various organs, or in the case of bacteria spreading to the blood, which can lead to sepsis.
Read more: http://www.worldpharmanews.com/research/4511-the-medicine-of-the-future-against-infection-and-inflammation