Meningitis-causing
bacteria exerted strong evolutionary pressure on an iron-binding protein in
primates, a study shows.
Damaging
toxins and antibody-epitope interactions are frequently the battlegrounds of
host-pathogen arms races, but a new study suggests a role for a different,
so-called “nutritional” immune system. In primates, the iron-carrying protein
transferrin likely evolved to inhibit meningitis-causing bacteria from
scavenging iron, an essential but limited nutrient, researchers reported in Science.
Posted by Tim Sandle
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