We know how dangerous some bacteria is and how harmful they can be. One of them being Salmonella, which is a bacterial pathogen that can kill in extreme cases. Salmonella was discovered in the late 1800's, and more then 40,000 people get it every year. Did you know that Salmonella has camouflaging bacterium? Bacteria have developed countless strategies to hide themselves in order to survive attacks by the immune system. This strategy consists of Salmonella bacteria hiding within the cytoplasm of a macrophage, hiding there they can not be detected by immune cells. This helps the Salmonella bacterial pathogens multiply with no risk of being killed.
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| Salmonella Hiding |
Thankfully to the research team of Biozentrum at the University of Basel, a protein family that plays a central role in the fight against the bacterial pathogen Salmonella that hides within the cells has been discovered by the researchers. This protein family is called interferon-induced GTPases, they reveal and eliminate the bacterium's camouflage in the cell, which enables the immune cells to recognize the pathogen and to destroy it.
The author of this article is trying to inform us on this new discovery that could be groundbreaking to other bacteria pathogens as well. He does a really good job at explaining the benefits of the new GTPases and how helpful they are. This new discovery could even help us find new bacteria that have been hiding in cells or even in space. It really ties in with new ways to find bacteria. I never would have thought that bacteria like Salmonella was a hiding pathogen. Perhaps this new research could even cure more sickness and disease, that we don’t know how to treat.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140416133338.htm
I don’t know much about salmonella, I only basically new that it comes from reptiles and can make you sick but that’s about it. It amazed me to learn that they have the ability to camouflage themselves so they avoid being detected by our immune system. This makes me realize that microbes are pretty well adapted to survive in harmful environments, I have never heard of a bacterium that can hide within the cytoplasm of a macrophage in order to avoid detection. It amazes me that these tiny microscopic organisms have such amazing survival mechanisms. It was a good thing that the researchers from the University of Basel were able to discover the protein that reveals and eliminates the salmonella’s ability to hide in the cells. I agree with you that this discovery can be a breakthrough in the field. It makes me wonder exactly what other diseases can actually be treated by this method.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog and many other blogs it seems as if microbes can basically do everything that humans can do. They eat, sleep, and can now even hide? I wouldn’t be surprised if I read an article about microbes playing Frisbee with each other. Okay, maybe that’s a little outrageous, but honestly it seems like microbes can do almost everything. Just last week I read a blog talking about how microbes can go to “sleep” so that they won’t be harmed by antibiotics. Now this week, I learn that microbes (Salmonella) bacteria can hide or rather camouflage themselves so that they won’t be detected by our immune system. With all these pathogens doing different things so that they won’t be harmed, it’s great to see a solution or treatment like the GTPases to counteract these dangerous pathogens. This article seems like it was well written because it gave a description of a problem and then gave a researched solution. Microbes can do a lot of good and sometimes really bad, so a solution or treatment like the GTPases that can reveal and eliminate the bacterium’s camouflage in the cell is a great find!
ReplyDelete-Angelo V.