New Insights into Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections and Potential Therapies

2023-07-11 08:53:07

infections

A Viennese biochemistry team has found a new mechanism with which an insidious hospital germ called Pseudomonas aeruginosa helps determine the immune response of its host. The bacterium produces substances that may cause inflammatory reactions in the human body. This might lead to new therapies.

11.07.2023 10.53

Online since today, 10.53 a.m

infections with the Pseudomonas-aeruginosa-Bacterium are very dangerous, especially for patients with previously weakened immune systems. The pathogen does not respond to many antibiotics. In order to get the better of them, Viennese scientists, among others, are investigating the insidious interactions between the bacterium and the body of its host.

New treatment approaches

It was already known that the bacteria coordinate their attacks with one another using a signaling substance called “2-alkylquinolone”. It was assumed that the pathogens might also use their lipid metabolism to produce other, similar compounds Thomas Boettcher from the University of Vienna and his team. In fact, they have now been able to prove that the bacterium also produces “hydroxylated 2-alkylquinolone”. The Results have now been published in the journal Communications Chemistry.

This opens up additional options for him: “We were able to show that a relatively low concentration of the hydroxylated 2-alkylquinolone is sufficient to activate the inflammatory messenger IL-8 in human cells. This indicates that Pseudomonas aeruginosa modulates the host’s immune response,” says study lead author Viktoriia Savchenko in a press release from the University of Vienna. By further exploring this strategy, the researchers hope to find new approaches to treating infections.

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