New method of bacterial cell ingress described

New research revealed how certain harmful bacteria drill into our cells to kill themHere bacterial ‘nanodrills’ assemble themselves on the outer surfaces of cells and punch holes in the cells’ outer membranes. The findings give a detailed view of how these bacterial toxins drill holes in cell membranes.

The discovery supports the development of new drugs that can target bacterial nanodrills and help treat the diseases in which they are implicated. These include pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia.

For further details see:

Carl Leung, Natalya V Dudkina, Natalya Lukoyanova, Adrian W Hodel, Irene Farabella, Arun P Pandurangan, Nasrin Jahan, Mafalda Pires Damaso, Dino Osmanović, Cyril F Reboul, Michelle A Dunstone, Peter W Andrew, Rana Lonnen, Maya Topf, Helen R Saibil, Bart W Hoogenboom. Stepwise visualization of membrane pore formation by suilysin, a bacterial cholesterol-dependent cytolysin. eLife, 2014; 3 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.04247

Posted by Tim Sandle