Selenium study may lead to new antibiotics

ORLANDO, Fla., June 4 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have found new attributes of the trace mineral selenium that may lead to new antibiotics for conditions such as diarrhea and tooth decay.

University of Central Florida Associate Professor William Self said selenium is found in a number of proteins in both bacterial cells and human cells called selenoproteins. Self said his research shows interrupting the way selenoproteins are made can halt the growth of the super bug Clostridium difficile, which leads to a spectrum of illnesses ranging from severe diarrhea to colitis, which can cause death, as well as Treponema denticola, a major contributor to gum disease.

The key discovery occurred when Self's team found the drug Auranofin, used to treat arthritis, changed the manner in which the body uses selenium. That chemical reaction, they said, prevents bacteria from using selenium to grow.

"It's the proof of principle that we are excited about," Self said. "No one has ever tried this approach, and it could potentially be a source for new narrow spectrum antibiotics that block bacteria that require selenium to grow."

The findings appear in the May issue of the Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry and the June issue of the Journal of Bacteriology.