2023-07-11 08:58:00
Viennese biochemists have found a new mechanism with which an insidious hospital germ called “Pseudomonas aeruginosa” helps determine the immune response of its host. The team led by Thomas Böttcher from the University of Vienna reports in the journal “Communications Chemistry” on the detection of certain substances that the bacterium apparently produces in order to stimulate an inflammatory messenger in human cells. This may bring new therapy ideas.
Infections with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium are very dangerous, especially for patients with a previously weakened immune system. 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.
It was already known that the bacteria coordinate their attacks with one another using a signaling substance called “2-alkylquinolone”. Böttcher and his team suspected that the pathogens could also use their lipid metabolism to produce other, similar compounds. In fact, the scientists have now been able to prove that the bacterium also produces “hydroxylated 2-alkylquinolone”.
This opens up additional options for him: “We were able to show that even 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 stimulates the host’s immune response modulated,” says study lead author Viktoriia Savchenko on Tuesday in a broadcast from the University of Vienna. By further exploring this strategy, the researchers hope to find new approaches to treating infections.
Service: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42004-023-00937-y
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