Protein found to play a key role in blocking pathogen survival
Invading microbial pathogens must scavenge essential nutrients from their host organism in order to survive and replicate. To defend themselves from infection, hosts attempt to block pathogens’ access to these nutrients. Now researchers at MIT have discovered the vital role a protein, calprotectin, plays in this process, known as “nutritional immunity.” In a paper published today in Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers describe the process by which human calprotectin prevents invading pathogens from obtaining iron, an extremely important nutrient. Transition metal ions, such as iron, zinc, and manganese, are essential for all organisms, according to Elizabeth Nolan, an associate professor of chemistry at MIT, who led the research. “What that means in the context of the host-pathogen interaction is that an invading microorganism needs to acquire these nutrient metal ions from the host,” Nolan says. “That is a challenge because the host tries to restrict metal-ion availability during infection, using a variety of...