08/09/2025
Turns out, the cute little axolotl isn’t just famous for its ability to regrow limbs—it might also help us fight some of the toughest health problems we face today. A new study found that special proteins in axolotl skin mucus called antimicrobial peptides can not only wipe out superbugs like MRSA but also selectively kill breast cancer cells. Even more impressive, these tiny peptides left healthy breast tissue cells untouched. Scientists from Hannover Medical School in Germany extracted mucus from captive-bred axolotls by gently massaging them (all done under strict animal welfare guidelines) and then combed through thousands of peptides to find the most promising ones.
Out of all the compounds, they identified 22 likely candidates, with four showing strong effects against MRSA—sometimes working even better than powerful last-resort antibiotics like vancomycin. That’s a huge deal, since MRSA is a growing problem and harder to treat every year because of rising antibiotic resistance. The same peptides that attacked MRSA also triggered a self-destruct process in breast cancer cells, a method called programmed cell death. This means they could potentially become a new class of drugs that target cancer without harming healthy cells.
Researchers say these antimicrobial peptides might give us an edge by being harder for bacteria to resist compared to traditional antibiotics. While it’s still early days and more research is needed, axolotl slime could hold the key to future treatments for infections and cancer, proving once again that nature is full of surprises.
Research Paper 📄
PMID: 40043049
PMCID: PMC11882074
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316257
