Microbiology Now

Trojan horse bacteria use nanobodies to conquer sleeping sickness

Monday, February 27, 2012 00:00 MST

Sleeping sickness, caused by the trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei, is transmitted to humans (and animals) via the bite of the tsetse fly. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Microbial Cell Factories uses a bacteria, which naturally lives in the fly, to release nanobodies (antibody fragments) against the trypanosome. These antibodies, which bind to the surface of the parasite, are the first stage in producing targeted nanobodies which could kill, or block, trypanosome development.

Sensing self and non-self: New research into immune tolerance

Sunday, February 26, 2012 00:00 MST

Cancer cells can undergo unchecked proliferation, producing self-antigens that are tolerated by the immune system, rather than being targeted for destruction. At the opposite extreme, autoimmune disorders can result when healthy cells in the body are misidentified as hazards. Dr. Joseph Blattman, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute� examines how CD8 T cells -- critical weapons in the body's defensive arsenal -- are regulated when they transition from this tolerant state to an activated state and back.

Malaria parasite goes bananas before sex: New study

Saturday, February 25, 2012 00:00 MST

New research from the University of Melbourne shows how the malaria parasite changes into a banana shape before sexual reproduction, a finding that could provide targets for vaccine or drug development and may explain how the parasite evades the human immune system.

A single protein helps the body keep watch over the Epstein-Barr virus

Saturday, February 25, 2012 00:00 MST

Some 90 percent of people are exposed to the Epstein Barr virus at some point in their life. Even though it is quickly cleared from the body, the virus can linger silently for years in small numbers of infected B cells. According to researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Immune Disease Institute, the immune system subdues the virus by watching for a single viral protein called LMP1.

A surprising molecular switch

Saturday, February 25, 2012 00:00 MST

In a standard biology textbook, cells tend to look more or less the same from all sides. But in real life cells have fronts and backs, tops and bottoms, and they orient many of their structures according to this polarity explaining, for example, why yeast cells bud at one end and not the other.

Research discovers potentially deadly fungus senses body's defenses to evade them

Saturday, February 25, 2012 00:00 MST

Glen Palmer, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology, immunology and parasitology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, was part of an international research team led by Luigina Romani, M.D., that discovered opportunistic fungi like Candida albicans can sense the immune status of host cells and adapt, evading immune system defenses. Unlike previous studies, this research investigated both sides of the infection equation and the interaction between the fungi and the cells they will invade.

Researchers discover molecular secrets of ancient Chinese herbal remedy

Friday, February 24, 2012 00:00 MST

Researchers have discovered the cellular target for a two-thousand-year-old herbal remedy known as Chang Shan. The bioactive compound, called febrifugine, triggers a stress-response pathway that tells cells to conserve resources and eliminate unnecessary functions, which in turn blocks the production of dangerous, disease-causing immune cells.

Live from the thymus: T-cells on the move

Friday, February 24, 2012 00:00 MST

For the first time, scientists follow the development of individual immune cells in a living zebrafish embryo.

Starve a virus, feed a cure?

Thursday, February 23, 2012 00:00 MST

A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate. While researchers hope the work will one day lead to a way to make anti-HIV drugs more effective by increasing their potency against the virus, they're also excited about its implications for our knowledge of other pathogens, such as herpes viruses.

Countdown to the introduction of a norovirus vaccine

Thursday, February 23, 2012 00:00 MST

On Friday, Feb. 17, 2012 at 10 a.m., Charles Arntzen, ASU Regents' professor, and professor in the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at the Biodesign Institutute will deliver a lecture entitled "Countdown to the Introduction of a Norovirus Vaccine."

Lens produces hours of scientific work in seconds

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 00:00 MST

A new form of microscope which can produce results in seconds rather than hours - dramatically speeding up the process of drug development - is being developed by researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

3-D microscopy a research breakthrough

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 00:00 MST

The understanding of diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's is set to take a step forward following groundbreaking technology at Griffith University which will enable cell analysis using automated 3D microscopy.

Researchers to develop antidote to cyanide poisoning

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 00:00 MST

Cyanide poisoning is often fatal and typically affects victims of industrial accidents, terrorist attacks, or structural fires. Based on research conducted at the Center for Drug Design at the University of Minnesota, start-up Vytacera Pharma Inc. will develop and market Sulfanegen, a treatment for cyanide poisoning.

Scientists shed light on how body fends off bacteria

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 00:00 MST

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have determined the 3D structure of the interaction between the bacterial protein flagellin and an immune molecule called TLR5, shedding light on how the body protects itself from foreign invaders. The study, published Feb. 17 in Science, not only helps decipher the molecular mechanism underlying TLR5 recognition and function, but it also advances knowledge that's key to the design of new therapeutics.

Cell death unleashes full force of human antiviral system

Monday, February 20, 2012 00:00 MST

A scientific team led by researchers at the University of Geneva and the Chariteand#769; Berlin Medical University has made a completely unprecedented discovery showing how much our immune system is provoked into action when confronted by viral intruders. The possibility of exploiting this mechanism in vaccines holds promise for the development of new ways of preventing and treating infectious diseases and cancer.