Researchers discover new strategy germs use to invade cells

Wednesday, August 20, 2014 - 07:30 in Biology & Nature

The hospital germ Pseudomonas aeruginosa wraps itself into the membrane of human cells: A team led by Dr. Thorsten Eierhoff and Junior Professor Dr. Winfried Römer from the Institute of Biology II, members of the Cluster of Excellence BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies of the University of Freiburg, has identified a novel mechanism of bacterial invasion: Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses lipids in the cell membrane to make its way into host cells. The protein LecA on the surface of the bacteria binds to sugar on special lipid molecules, so-called Gb3 lipids, which are present in the outer membrane of human cells. When the germ docks onto a cell, the LecA molecules of the bacteria and the Gb3 lipids of the host membrane interlock - like a zipper. In this way, the cell envelope wraps itself around the germ step by step and conveys it into the cell's interior. Römer and...

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