Switch that enables Salmonella to sabotage host cells revealed in new study

16 Apr 2010

1

A new switch that enables Salmonella bacteria to sabotage host cells is revealed in a study published yesterday in the journal Science.

The researchers behind the study, from Imperial College London, say that the new finding could ultimately lead to drugs that interfere with the switch in order to combat Salmonella and possibly other bacterial infections.

In humans, Salmonella causes diseases ranging from gastroenteritis to typhoid fever. It also causes similar diseases in livestock.

Before the Salmonella cell can replicate inside a much larger human or animal cell and establish an infection, it must first sabotage the cell by injecting it with a cocktail of 'virulence' proteins. These proteins interfere with the cell's defences and help the bacteria to grow.

The new research reveals that a switch needs to be triggered before the bacterial cell can inject its virulence proteins into a host cell.

First, the bacterial cell assembles a needle-like structure on its surface, to deliver the virulence proteins. Then, another set of bacterial proteins pass through the needle and poke a hole in the membrane of the host cell, creating a bridge between the bacterial cell and the host. During this time, the switch inside the bacterial cell acts like a safety catch, holding the virulence proteins back so they are not delivered prematurely.

Business History Videos

History of hovercraft Part 3...

Today I shall talk a bit more about the military plans for ...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of hovercraft Part 2...

In this episode of our history of hovercraft, we shall exam...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Hovercraft Part 1...

If you’ve been a James Bond movie fan, you may recall seein...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Trams in India | ...

The video I am presenting to you is based on a script writt...

By Aniket Gupta | Presenter: Sheetal Gaikwad

view more