STD Symptoms in Women: Identification, Diagnosis, Treatment

gonorrhea caused by which bacteria :: Article Creator

New Antibiotic Targets Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea

This novel antibiotic activates an existing "suicide" mechanism in gonococci

The increase of microbes resistant to antibiotics is a growing problem. These include, for example, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium which causes gonorrhea. Researchers from the universities in Konstanz and Vienna discover a new class of antibiotic that selectively targets Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These substances trigger a self-destruction program, which also operates in multi-resistant variants of the pathogen. This type of treatment could be used in an adapted form against other pathogens, so the scientists have made a real breakthrough in the fight against superbugs. The results have been published in the renowned journal Nature Microbiology.

In recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly warned of the increase in microbes resistant to antibiotics. Especially multi-resistant bacteria threaten the global healthcare system and can deprive modern medicine of one of its most important curative tools. A team of researchers at the University of Konstanz and the University of Vienna, along with their collaboration partners, have now identified a highly effective substance that uses a new mechanism to target one particularly problematic pathogen. The astonishing findings of the research team led by Christof Hauck, professor of cell biology at the University of Konstanz, and Thomas Böttcher, professor of microbial biochemistry at the University of Vienna, have now been published in Nature Microbiology.

Last year, the WHO compiled a list of particularly problematic bacterial pathogens (Bacterial Priority Pathogens List). It names 15 types of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and classifies them into categories such as "critical", "high" and "medium" priority. The WHO has called upon science and industry to focus their efforts on developing drugs that fight these microbes. One bacterium on the list is Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the microbe that causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea.

Superbug gonococci

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, also referred to as gonococcus, is a highly specialized type of bacteria only found in humans. The pathogen primarily colonizes mucous membranes in the genital tract and can be transmitted from person to person during unprotected sex. During birth, these pathogens can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her child, causing the baby's eyes to become infected. Especially before antibiotics were available, this was a common cause of blindness in newborns.

"Gonococci are notorious for quickly becoming resistant to antibiotics", says chemist Thomas Böttcher. This is because gonococci have the special ability to pick up genetic material from other microbes - including antibiotic resistance genes. Böttcher adds: "This is one of the reasons why gonococcal strains have recently emerged that are resistant to all antibiotics currently in use - such superbugs can no longer be treated with antibiotics."

Interdisciplinary research approach enables breakthrough

Hauck and Böttcher's teams have now been able to identify new substances from the group of alkyl quinolones (AQs) that are even effective against multidrug resistant gonococci. AQs are substances produced naturally by some bacteria to ward off other naturally occurring bacteria. Building on the idea that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", the researchers recreated these natural substances in the lab and synthesized slightly modified variants. "One of these new AQ molecules actually did have a unique effect: The chemical compound was able to kill gonococci without having a negative impact on other microorganisms or human cells", says cell biologist Hauck. The team elucidated the nature of this astonishing effect using an interdisciplinary research approach that combines synthetic and organic chemistry with genetic and biochemical analyses as well as complex preclinical animal models.

It turns out that this novel antibiotic activates an existing "suicide" mechanism in gonococci. "From other microorganisms, we know about such self-destruction programmes based on toxin-antitoxin systems, and our AQ substance seems to precisely target this Achilles heel of gonococci", explains Ann-Kathrin Mix, first author of the study and a doctoral researcher in Hauck's team. The new antibiotic causes the breakdown of an antitoxin in gonococci, so that the toxin part is released and kills the bacteria. Importantly, the AQ substance can even eliminate multi-resistant gonococcal variants. However, since the respective toxin-antitoxin system is exclusive to gonococci, the antibiotic does not harm other bacteria.

Toxin-antitoxin systems are also present in other infectious microorganisms. The researchers thus expect that this type of treatment could be adapted for use against other bacterial pathogens. "The recently published findings open up a new and innovative way to fight pathogenic microbes before our arsenal of antibiotics is drained", Hauck concludes.

Mix, A.-K., Nguyen, T.H.N., Schuhmacher, T., Szamosvári, D., Muenzner, P., Haas, P., Heeb, L., Wami, H.T., Dobrindt, U., Delikkafa, Y.Ö., Mayer, T.U., Böttcher, T., Hauck, C.R. (2025) A quinolone N-oxide antibiotic selectively targets Neisseria gonorrhoeae via its toxin-antitoxin system. In Nature Microbiology.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococci), the bacteria that cause gonorrhoea. Research teams led by cell biologist Christof Hauck (University of Konstanz) and chemist Thomas Böttcher (University of Vienna) have discovered novel substances that are effective against multi-resistant gonococci. C: Christof Hauck

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.

Antibiotic Discovered For Multidrug-Resistant Gonorrhea Superbug

Thank you. Listen to this article using the player above. ✖

Want to listen to this article for FREE?

Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.

Researchers from the universities in Konstanz and Vienna discover a new class of antibiotic that selectively targets Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium that causes gonorrhoea. These substances trigger a self-destruction program, which also operates in multi-resistant variants of the pathogen. The novel findings are published in the current issue of Nature Microbiology.

Last year, the WHO compiled a list of particularly problematic bacterial pathogens (Bacterial Priority Pathogens List). It names15 types of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and classifies them into categories such as "critical", "high" and "medium" priority. The WHO has called upon science and industry to focus their efforts on developing drugs that fight these microbes. One bacterium on the list is Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the microbe that causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea.

Superbug gonococci Neisseria gonorrhoeae , also referred to as gonococcus, is a highly specialized type of bacteria only found in humans. The pathogen primarily colonizes mucous membranes in the genital tract and can be transmitted from person to person during unprotected sex. During birth, these pathogens can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her child, causing the baby's eyes to become infected. Especially before antibiotics were available, this was a common cause of blindness in newborns.

"Gonococci are notorious for quickly becoming resistant to antibiotics", says chemist Thomas Böttcher. This is because gonococci have the special ability to pick up genetic material from other microbes – including antibiotic resistance genes. Böttcher adds: "This is one of the reasons why gonococcal strains have recently emerged that are resistant to all antibiotics currently in use – such superbugs can no longer be treated with antibiotics."

Interdisciplinary research approach enables breakthrough

Reference: Mix AK, Nguyen THN, Schuhmacher T, et al. A quinolone N-oxide antibiotic selectively targets Neisseria gonorrhoeae via its toxin–antitoxin system. Nat Microbiol. 2025;10(4):939-957. Doi: 10.1038/s41564-025-01968-y

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Our press release publishing policy can be accessed here.

Gonorrhea Could Be Antibiotic Resistant In The Next Decade

The most common STDs have been on the rise in recent years.

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calling it an "epidemic" and without the demand for pharmaceutical companies to produce new drugs, the U.S. Could see antibiotic resistance to sexually transmitted diseases in the next five to 10 years — and young people on college campuses are especially prone.

Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of the drugs used to treat them. Meaning, the bacteria are no longer killed by a drug that used to kill them before, and the bacteria are then free to keep multiplying, according to recent reports released by the CDC.

"The gonorrhea organism is very adaptable and very smart," said Candy Hadsall, a prevention nurse specialist at the Minnesota Department of Health. "So every time it [is introduced to] a new drug, it starts working to figure out how to get around it."

This has been the case throughout history, as gonorrhea has become resistant to medications like penicillin and other previous treatments.

There have not been any documented cases in the U.S. Of antibiotic resistance to gonorrhea when the recommended treatment has been used. However, both the U.K. And Canada have seen cases of the infection that could not be treated with the commonly applied antibiotics. The CDC recommends a single shot of ceftriaxone and an oral dosage of azithromycin.

Yet lab studies have found resistance to previously recommended treatments, and antibiotic resistant gonorrhea is listed as one of only three "urgent" threats on the CDC's website.

Among University of Minnesota students who have been sexually active within their lifetime, 9.3 percent reported being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection, with chlamydia being the most commonly diagnosed, according to the most recent student survey released by Boynton Health in 2015.

More than two million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported in the U.S. In 2016 — the highest number ever, reports the CDC. Nationally, gonorrhea has seen 67 percent increase since 2013, according to data from the CDC.

"We know that's only a fraction of the sexually transmitted infections that occur, because some [have no symptoms] and they never get diagnosed or reported," said Elizabeth Torrone, an epidemiologist in the CDC division of STD prevention. "And some STIs are not reportable conditions."

There have been considerable increases in reported STDs over the past five years, especially gonorrhea, Torrone said.

The reasons for the increase are varied. Potential causes are a mixture of changing sexual practices and that more people are getting screened and treated. But such drastic increases, especially with gonorrhea, suggest that more people being screened cannot account for the increase alone, said Torrone.

People of color, as well as young women between the ages of 15 to 24, are disproportionately affected by STDs, but are also the least likely to know they are infected. The majority of women do not develop symptoms when they develop gonorrhea, which can result in not seeking medical care. Untreated sexually transmitted infections and diseases can lead to long term complications such as infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancies, and can in rare cases result in death if untreated.

With the increase in drug-resistant STDs, pharmaceutical companies are pushed to develop new medications. However, there isn't enough money to be made in STDs, Hadsall said.

There is another oral medication that works against gonorrhea – cefixime – but after one company's patent expired, the company decided to cease its production. Now, the only company that makes the oral medication is located in India, and they can charge any price they choose, she said.

"Some places pay $20, some pay $100 just for a capsule," Hadsall said. As a result, many pharmacies are no longer stocking the medication.

It's critical that individuals and communities take steps to fight antibiotic resistance, Torrone said.

"We're taking a multi-pronged approach to prevent the emerge of resistance," she said.

At the University, young people should make sure to get tested annually and use protective barriers during intercourse, said Melissa Koe, a coordinator for the Sexual Health Awareness and Disease Education group. SHADE is a peer health student group run out of Boynton Health and a resource to University students.

"We make sexual health supplies and knowledge more accessible and reliable to students," Koe said.

Organizations like the CDC and the Minnesota Department of Health are working on surveying the problem to make sure that the most effective treatment is being recommended for the strains circulating a community.

"We also work closely with health care providers to make sure people most at risk for STIs like gonorrhea are being screened as well," Torrone said.

Search This Blog

Signs of STD