According to media reports this week, an American patient living in Germany and suffering with both leukemia and HIV was apparently cured of both conditions following a bone marrow transplant from a unique donor. The donor possessed a very rare genetic variation that makes it difficult for HIV to enter into his [...]
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have discovered a mechanism by which intracellular pathogens can shut down one of the body’s key chemical weapons against them: nitric oxide. The researchers found that the microbes block nitric oxide production by subverting the biochemical machinery used by immune cells called macrophages [...]
Dutch researcher Joost Wiersinga from AMC Medical Centre in Amsterdam has unravelled a genetic defence mechanism against the lethal bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. The research is the next step towards a vaccine against this bacterium suitable for bioweapons.
Tags: bacterial infection, bacterium, deadly bacteria, defence mechanism, defence system, dutch researcher, fools, genetic cause, [...]
Humans have an innate defence system against deadly bacteria. However, how the step from gene to anti-bacterial effect occurs in the body is not yet known. To date, B. Pseudomallei, a bacterium suitable for bioweapons, had managed to elude medics. It can remain hidden in the human body for many years without being detected by [...]
Mode of action of HZI natural products elucidated substances also act against bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics
A group of antibiotic natural products discovered at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig points out a new mode of action against pathogenic bacteria. Isolated from myxobacteria, the substances prevent an enzym of the pathogens [...]
