Bacteria responsible for common infections may protect themselves by stealing immune molecules

When the body senses an infection, one of the first lines of defense is to send immune molecules called host-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to target and kill bacteria. However, bacteria have learned to resist AMPs through a series of countermeasures such as remodeling their outer membrane surface to be less permeable. Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is such a bacterium.

NTHI resides in the human upper airway, typically without causing any harm. However, NTHI has the ability to change from a non-harmful bacterium to a disease causing pathogen, responsible for pink eye, sinusitis, middle ear infection and complications of cystic fibrosis. “When transitioning to a harmful pathogen, NTHI defends against increased production of AMPs by using the Sap, which stands for sensitivity to antimicrobial peptides, proteins to arm against attack, ” said Kevin M. Mason, PhD, principal investigator in the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and lead study author. “Yet, it's unclear just how the Sap transporter complex provides protection against AMPs.”

To help explain the mechanisms that NTHI uses to protect itself from AMPs, Dr. Mason's team examined an animal model of middle ear infection. They had previously shown that NTHI bacteria lacking the protein SapA were susceptible to AMP attack. In the study, they describe the Sap transporter system that recognizes and transports host immune defense molecules into the bacterial cell. This system is necessary for the bacteria to survive in the host.

“It seems that NTHI senses the presence of these immune molecules, steals them from the host and arms itself to protect against future attacks,” said Dr. Mason. “NTHI imports AMPs into the bacterial cell and then degrades them in the interior of the cell. By remodeling its membranes, the bacterium appears as already attacked, which protects it from being bothered by additional AMPs. Basically, transporting AMPs acts as a counter strategy to evade innate immune defense and ultimately benefits the bacterium nutritionally.” This study provides the first direct evidence that the protein SapA contributes to bacterial survival by providing protection from AMPs in the host.

Dr. Mason says that targeting the Sap transport system may provide a way to use AMP derivatives as alternatives to antibiotics to treat NTHI infections. “Our long-range goal is to block this uptake system and starve the bacterium of essential nutrients. If we could develop a small molecule inhibitor that could block binding and transport, we could render NTHI susceptible to immune attack, while preserving the body's normal bacteria that are often disrupted by conventional antibiotic use.”

For more information about Dr. Kevin Mason, visit http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/kevin-mason

For more information about the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, visit http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/microbial-pathogens

Media Contact

Erin Pope EurekAlert!

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors