Decoded Structure Of Secretion System, Essential For Infection, Could Lead To New Drugs

This article talks about the physiology of dysentery. There are “sharp” proteins on the surface of the bacterial cell that penetrate the endothelial cells and the secretions cause them to break down.

“The secretion system is a complex protein structure that traverses the bacterial cell membrane and acts as a biological syringe to inject deadly proteins into intestinal cells. These proteins rupture the cell's innards, leading to bloody diarrhea and sometimes death. Similar secretion systems exist in a range of other infectious bacteria, including those that cause typhoid fever, some types of food poisoning, and plague.”

Scientists are trying to determine the exact protein structure of the cell surface in order to design drugs that will destroy thus and render the bacteria harmless to the gut.

“The more accurate model therefore shows how the different parts of the injection machine fit together and may fit with other bacterial components that provide the engine to drive injection. These are important steps toward developing a detailed understanding of how the injection machine works, and to developing inhibitors that can prevent bacterial infections.”

This model is important in discovering the overall mechanism of infection that is carried out by the bacteria and could help find a way to disrupt it and effectively cure the disease.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/147880.php