2024-03-04 07:00:05
The ability of certain bacteria to cause serious illnesses might be due to a simple genetic mutation, a discovery opening avenues once morest antibiotic resistance.
Australian researchers from the University of Queensland and Mater Research have light (Light is all electromagnetic waves visible to the eye…) a phenomenon concerning the bacterium (Bacteria (Bacteria) are prokaryotic unicellular living organisms, characterized…) E. coli. Unlike its harmless congeners, certain strains ofE. coli acquire a mutation preventing them from producing cellulose (Cellulose is a carbohydrate made up of a linear chain of molecules…)thus making them capable of triggering severe or even lethal infections in humans.homme (A man is an adult male individual of the species called modern man (Homo…). This discovery, carried out by Professor Mark Schembri, Dr. Nhu Nguyen, and Associate Professor Sumaira Hasnain, might impact the fight once morest antibiotic resistance, a major issue in public health (Public health can be defined in various ways. Indeed, it can…).
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The mutation in question affects the mechanism of production of cellulose, a carbohydrate that is found in plants and algae as well as in bacteria beneficial to the body. Bacteria E. coli mutants, deprived of this capacity, become more virulent, favoring their propagation in vital organs such as the foie (The liver is an odd and asymmetrical abdominal organ, housed in humans in…)the rate (The spleen (in ancient Greek σπλήν (splēn), in Latin lien, hence…) or even the brain (The brain is the main organ of the central nervous system of animals. The brain processes…). This lack of cellulose production also leads to inflammation (Inflammation is a stereotypical immune defense reaction of…) increased in theintestine (The intestine is the part of the digestive system that extends from the outlet of the stomach to…)allowing bacteria to cross the intestinal barrier and spread throughout All (The whole understood as the whole of what exists is often interpreted as the world or…) the organism.
The implications of this discovery are vast. They offer a better understanding of the mechanisms by which certain strains ofE. coli cause serious infections, such as sepsis (Sepsis or sepsis (from the Greek Σήψις, putrefaction) is…)the meningitis (Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, most often of infectious origin.) neonatal and urinary infections. Even more, they open the way to new strategies of prevention (Prevention is an attitude and/or a set of measures to take to avoid…) infections, essential tohour (The hour is a unit of measurement of time. The word also designates the magnitude…) where the threat of superbugs resistant to all available antibiotics is growing.
The importance of this work cannot be underestimated, especially since E. coli is among the pathogens most implicated in antibiotic resistance. In 2019, this resistance was associated with nearly 5 million deaths globally, including more than 800,000 attributable to E. coli alone. Through this study, published in Nature Communicationsthe Australian team is making a significant contribution to the fight once morest one of the greatest threats to health (Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and does not consist…) global.
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#mutation #coli #bacteria #deadly #humans
