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Combating Infant Deaths From Diarrhoea
April 02, 2003Hundreds of thousands of infant lives could be saved every year when the research findings from many teams, including one from Bristol University, are used to prevent infant deaths from diarrhoea in developing countries, the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Meeting in Edinburgh heard today, Monday 7 April 2003.
One of the main causes of dehydration and death is the bacterium E. coli, and the way it attacks its victims and alters their body functions to make copies of itself has now been identified by the medical scientists. This offers opportunities to design vaccines or drugs to save lives by preventing the disease or speeding up recovery.
"We played a leading role in the discovery that the major culprit which causes diarrhoea, non-invasive bacteria called enteropathogenic E. coli, injects proteins into the cells of the children it attacks," says Dr Brendan Kenny of the department of Pathology and Microbiology in Bristol. "One of these, Tir, is essential to cause the disease, and works by first acting as an anchor for the bacteria and then to alter the cell's activity. A second protein, Map, works with Tir to change cells activity and also attacks the cell's powerhouse."
The scientists are working to identify the way these and other proteins act together to overwhelm the child's cells. The cells, once changed, then allow the bacteria to survive, breed and pass on to infect other children.
"Our work demonstrates that the bacteria can control these proteins from outside the cells, like sending in an infiltration force to weaken the enemy before the main army attacks," says Dr Kenny. "Once we know how the whole system works we will be able to identify specific targets for drug designers."
Society for General Microbiology
The scientists are working to identify the way these and other proteins act together to overwhelm the child's cells. The cells, once changed, then allow the bacteria to survive, breed and pass on to infect other children.
"Our work demonstrates that the bacteria can control these proteins from outside the cells, like sending in an infiltration force to weaken the enemy before the main army attacks," says Dr Kenny. "Once we know how the whole system works we will be able to identify specific targets for drug designers."
Society for General Microbiology
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