‘Syringe’ Assembly In Plague Bacteria Studied

Bacteria that cause the bubonic plague avoid death in our bodies by injecting our cells with immune evasion proteins. Scientists have discovered a new way bacteria build and hold the syringes, according to research published in the journal Microbiology.Some pathogenic bacteria have a complex injection device made of many proteins. This molecular syringe has to be attached across two membranes so that proteins can be passed from the bacterial cells into human cells.

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Filed under: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses on March 3rd, 2008