By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
ScienceabodeScienceabode
  • Home
  • News & Perspective
    News & PerspectiveShow More
    Microorganism that causes rare but severe eye infections detected in NSW coastal areas
    By Admin
    Scientists identify common cause of gastro in young children and adults over 50 years old
    By admin
    AI reveals hidden traits about our planet’s flora to help save species
    By admin
    Eye drops slow nearsightedness progression in kids, study finds
    By admin
    Using AI to create better, more potent medicines
    By admin
  • Latest News
    Latest NewsShow More
    Researchers develop new robot medics for places doctors are unable to be
    By Admin
    Even thinking about marriage gets young people to straighten up
    By admin
    Study: People tend to locate the self in the brain or the heart – and it affects their judgments and decisions
    By admin
    UCLA patient is first to receive successful heart transplant after using experimental 50cc Total Artificial Heart
    By admin
    Via Dying Cells, UVA Finds Potential Way to Control Cholesterol Levels
    By admin
  • Health
    Health
    The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”…
    Show More
    Top News
    Researchers design machine learning models to better predict adolescent suicide and self-harm risk
    September 11, 2023
    Scientists identify evolutionary gateway helping pneumonia bacteria become resistant to antibiotics   
    October 3, 2023
    New research indicates some people may be physically unable to use police breathalysers
    October 3, 2023
    Latest News
    A Downside of Taurine: It Drives Leukemia Growth
    May 19, 2025
    How do therapy dogs help domestic abuse survivors receiving support services?
    May 10, 2025
    New chronic pain therapy retrains the brain to process emotions
    May 10, 2025
    Mind Blank? Here’s What Your Brain Is Really Doing During Those Empty Moments
    May 7, 2025
  • Environment
    EnvironmentShow More
    Arsenic exposure linked to faster onset of diabetes in south Texas population 
    By Admin
    Antarctica vulnerable to invasive species hitching rides on plastic and organic debris
    By Admin
    New substrate material for flexible electronics could help combat e-waste
    By Admin
    Bacteria ‘nanowires’ could help scientists develop green electronics
    By Admin
    Replacing plastics with alternatives is worse for greenhouse gas emissions in most cases, study finds
    By Admin
  • Infomation
    • Pricavy Policy
    • Terms of Service
  • Jobs
  • Application Submission
Notification Show More
Aa
ScienceabodeScienceabode
Aa
  • Home
  • Health
  • Anatomy
  • Jobs Portal
  • Application Submission
  • Categories
    • Health
    • Anatomy
    • Food & Diet
    • Beauty Lab
    • News & Perspective
    • Environment
  • More Foxiz
    • Blog Index
    • Sitemap
Follow US
Scienceabode > Blog > Latest News > Purdue biologists identify new strategy used by bacteria during infection
Latest News

Purdue biologists identify new strategy used by bacteria during infection

admin
Last updated: 2011/07/12 at 3:29 PM
By admin
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE


Purdue associate professor of biological sciences Zhao-Qing Luo, foreground, and graduate student Yunhao Tan identified a new way in which bacteria modify healthy cells during infection. Shown on the computer screen are cells infected with a mutant strain of the bacteria Legionella pneumophila used in their research. (Credit: Purdue University photo/Mark Simons)

Purdue University biologists identified a new way in which bacteria hijack healthy cells during infection, which could provide a target for new antibiotics.

 

- Advertisement -
MedBanner_Skyscraper_160x600_03/2018

Zhao-Qing Luo, the associate professor of biological sciences who led the study, said the team discovered a new enzyme used by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila – which causes Legionnaires’ disease – to control its host cell in order to take up residence.

 

“Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia, and this finding could lead to the design of a new therapy that saves lives,” Luo said. “At the same time it also provides great insight into a general mechanism of both bacterial infection and cell signaling events in higher organisms including humans.”

 

Successful infection by Legionella pneumophila requires the delivery of hundreds of proteins into the host cells that alter various functions to turn the naturally hostile environment into one tailor-made for bacterial replication. These proteins tap into existing communication processes within the cells in which an external signal, such as a hormone, triggers a cascade of slight modifications to proteins that eventually turns on a gene that changes the cell’s behavior, he said.

 

“Pathogens are successful because they know how information in our cells is relayed and they amplify some signals and block others in order to evade the immune system and keep the cell from defending itself,” Luo said. “Despite our understanding of this, we do not know much about how the proteins delivered by the bacteria accomplish this – how they work. This time we were able to pinpoint an enzyme and see how it disrupted and manipulated a specific signaling pathway in order to create a better environment for itself.”

 

The signaling pathway involved was only recently identified, and the discovery by Luo and graduate student Yunhao Tan also provides a key insight into its process. A paper detailing their National Institutes of Health-funded work is published online in the current issue of the journal Nature.

 

The signaling pathway involves a new form of protein modification called AMPylation in order to relay instructions to change cell behavior and has been found to be used by almost all organisms, Luo said.

 

The bacterial enzyme discovered by the Purdue team, named SidD, reverses or stops the AMPylation process, he said.

 

“It had not been known before if the AMPylation signaling process was reversible or if it was regulated by specific enzymes,” Luo said. “Now we know that it is, and we have a more complete picture that will allow us to use it as a scientific tool to learn more about complex cellular processes. By being able to turn the signaling on and off, we can control different activities and detect mechanisms we wouldn’t see under normal physiological conditions.”

 

The bacterium affects the host cell’s functions differently during different phases of the infection process, tapping into signaling pathways to turn on and off certain natural cellular activities.  SidD stops the AMPylation process four hours after the start of infection in order to reverse an earlier modification that would be detrimental to the cell if left in place, he said.

 

“During its process of infection, the bacteria can trigger reactions that can lead to the death of the host cell,” Luo said. “Of course this is not in the best interest of the bacteria because it would no longer be able to replicate and continue infection, so it has evolved mechanisms to neutralize such reactions and keep the host cell alive.”

 

Luo said further investigation of the structure and function of the SidD enzyme is needed to better understand its role in the infection process and its involvement in other cellular processes.

 

“The more we can learn about an infectious agent, the better equipped we will be to design a therapy to fight it,” he said. “Before a new antibiotic therapy can be created, we must understand the enzyme enough to find chemicals to inhibit its activity. Further, because the bacteria have coevolved with us for millions of years, they provide some of the best tools for us to understand the intricacy of cellular processes.”

 

Luo plans to further study SidD and investigate other proteins used by Legionella pneumophila bacteria.

 

Source:  Purdue University

Published on 13th July 2011

admin July 12, 2011 July 12, 2011
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print

Fast Four Quiz: Precision Medicine in Cancer

How much do you know about precision medicine in cancer? Test your knowledge with this quick quiz.
Get Started
Even in Winter, Life Persists in Arctic Seas

(USCGC Healy breaking through the Bering Sea waves. Credit: Chantelle Rose/NSF)   Despite…

A Biodiversity Discovery That Was Waiting in the Wings–Wasp Wings, That Is

Wing size differences between two Nasonia wasp species are the result of…

Entertainement

Coming soon

Your one-stop resource for medical news and education.

Your one-stop resource for medical news and education.
Sign Up for Free

You Might Also Like

Latest News

Researchers develop new robot medics for places doctors are unable to be

By Admin
Latest News

Even thinking about marriage gets young people to straighten up

By admin
Latest News

Study: People tend to locate the self in the brain or the heart – and it affects their judgments and decisions

By admin
Latest News

UCLA patient is first to receive successful heart transplant after using experimental 50cc Total Artificial Heart

By admin
Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram
Company
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Contact US
  • Feedback
  • Advertisement
More Info
  • Newsletter
  • Beauty Lab
  • News & Perspective
  • Food & Diet
  • Health
  • Environment
  • Anatomy

Sign Up For Free

Subscribe to our newsletter and don't miss out on our programs, webinars and trainings.

Copyright © 2023 ScienceAbode. All Rights Reserved. Designed and Developed by Spirelab Solutions (Pvt) Ltd

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?