Antibiotics Seem To Worsen Defenses Against Influenza: Studies

Antibiotics are drugs used to treat bacterial infections. However, their arbitrary administration can lead to resistance of microorganisms. A recent study performed on mice shows that antibiotics appear to worsen defenses against influenza in the lungs.

Abuse of these microbicides has become a major problem for healthcare professionals. Worldwide, a large proportion of people use them for ineffective treatment of inflammatory, traumatic or viral conditions without medical supervision.

A group of researchers from the Francis Crick Institute have shown that antibiotics affect the first barrier in the immune system at the pulmonary level. In addition, they were shown to alter protein signaling promoted by intestinal bacteria and also affect this aspect of the immune system.

Antibiotics and defense against influenza: The study

At the beginning of the study, the research team used a group of laboratory rodents with healthy intestinal flora. First, these mice received a mixture of antibiotics diluted in drinking water for more than three weeks. After this time, the team infected the test group with influenza virus.

On the other hand, the other group of control rodents who had not previously received antibiotics were also infected with the virus. In this way, the researchers hoped to compare and analyze the results in detail. Only two days after infection, the antibiotic-treated mice had a virus population in the lungs five times higher than the control group.

In addition, the researchers decided to perform a stool transplant on a small group of infected rodents that they had previously treated with antibiotics. In doing so, they sought to repopulate the intestinal flora that the use of the drug had produced, in order to evaluate the role of protein signaling of bacterial origin in the restoration of the defenses of the lungs.

The main focus of the research was to assess the dynamics of interferons in the pathogenesis of lung virus infection. Throughout the research, it was possible to demonstrate how antibiotics not only appear to worsen defense against influenza, but also favor the development of more serious clinical pictures.

What did the results show regarding defense against influenza?

This recent research describes how immunity in the human body depends on a complex intercellular and intracellular signaling process. It involves a system of protein stimuli derived from intestinal bacteria that prepare the tissues for defense.

The results of the study confirm that antibiotics worsen the clinical course of those infected with influenza virus by altering signaling. In this regard, 80% of the infected rodents with healthy intestinal flora managed to survive. However, more than 60% of the mice that previously received antibiotics died during the study.

At the same time, a better immune response to the infection was obtained after repopulation of the intestinal flora of the infected rodents.

In this way, the test mice developed a better defense against the virus attack and achieved a better survival rate. This fact highlights how antibiotics worsen defense against influenza at a pulmonary and systemic level.

Influence of the intestinal flora on the immunity of the lungs

Improper use of antibiotics favors the reduction of beneficial intestinal bacteria. And it leaves the body vulnerable to viral lung infections. This finding is vital, not only in human clinical practice, but also in the approach to prophylactic antimicrobial treatments in livestock and agriculture.

The study also revealed that type I interferons are the molecules responsible for signaling and regulating lung defense. This drug is responsible for stimulating the early response of the lungs to viral multiplication, reducing the rate of infection and colonization.

Interferons promote the activation of MX1 antiviral genes in rodents, similar to the MxA gene in humans. And these participate in altering the replication and survival of viruses in the body.

The cells along the lung tissue are the first link in the defense against harmful substances. Since intestinal bacterial signaling is present, activator genes warn and activate them, thus reducing viral colonization. However, type I antibiotics reduce interferons and worsen the clinical course of influenza.

Defense against influenza can stabilize again

A crucial factor throughout this research was the ability to restore the lungs’ immune system to its original state. For this purpose, the researchers chose to perform fecal transplantation in rodents. This allowed the intestinal flora to repopulate and return to normal.

So they improved the local immunity in the lungs and increased the defense in other tissues. At the same time, further studies in humans are still needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure or the need for other approaches.

You should never take antibiotics without a prescription from a doctor

In conclusion, this new study, which claims that antibiotics appear to worsen defense against influenza, is not something we should take lightly.

Viral infections should only be treated with antiviral drugs or supportive methods. After all, antibiotics have shown no effect in this context. In addition, there is a dramatic increase in bacterial resistance and a wide range of side effects that have to do with the consumption of antibiotics.

In this regard, you should never take these medicines or other medicines without a prescription from a doctor. Healthcare professionals are the only ones qualified to evaluate the condition, identify disorders, and suggest the best therapeutic approach.