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Researchers have identified a protein that fuels the virulence of the gonorrhea bacteria, opening up the possibility of a new target for antibiotics and, even better, a vaccine
The findings, published ] Friday The microbes, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, are considered "superbugs" because of their resistance to all clbades of antibiotics available for treatment This disease that causes 78 million new cases each year in the world is very detrimental if it is not treated or treated badly.
It can lead to endometritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, epididymitis, and infertility. Babies born to infected mothers are at increased risk of blindness.
"Infections are very often silent," said Aleksandra Sikora, a researcher at the Oregon State University
"Up to 50% of infected women do not have no symptoms. these asymptomatic cases can still have serious consequences on the patient's reproductive health, miscarriage or premature delivery.
The need for better antibiotic therapy and a vaccine is urgent. N. gonorrhoeae strains resistant to the latest effective treatment options have emerged, and treatment failures occur.
Dr. Sikora and his research team at the OSU / OHSU College of Pharmacy and Ann Jerse's laboratory at the Uniformed University of Health Sciences Services in Bethesda, Maryland, collaborated to discovering a new lipoprotein that N. gonorrhoeae uses can defeat the body's first innate immune defense line.
He said the body relied on enzymes known as lysozymes that thwart bacteria.
Lysozymes are abundant both in the epithelial cells, which constitute the tissue on the outside of the organs and in the interior of the body cavities, and in the phagocytic cells which protect the body by epithelial cells. ingest foreign particles and bacteria.
In turn, many Gram-negative bacteria – characterized by their cell envelope that include a protective outer membrane – have developed defenses. ng lysozymes. However, prior to the work of Dr. Sikora's team, a single lysozyme-fighting protein was found in the genus Neisseria
. Now that new targets have been identified, they could be explored as new candidates for a new antibiotic or vaccine. if the lysozyme inhibitor could itself be inhibited, the ability of the bacteria to reduce the infection would be greatly reduced.
Dr. Sikora and his collaborators have named the new SliC protein, abbreviation for the type c lysozyme inhibitor. Studying SliC function in culture as well as in a gonorrhea mouse model – mice were infected with N. gonorrhoeae, and then verified for SliC expression at one, three and five days – the researchers determined that the protein was essential for bacterial colonization because of its anti-lysozyme
"It is the first time that an animal model has been used to demonstrate the role of a lysozyme inhibitor in infection with gonorrhea, "said Dr. Sikora. All our experiments show the importance of the lysozyme inhibitor. It's very exciting. "
Source: GNA
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