Research reveals that bacterial pathogens that cause Lyme disease and syphilis are highly invasive. These pathogens, or spirochetes, can invade the central nervous system and, in the case of syphilis, enter the placenta, causing disease in the unborn child. In the November 19 issue of the Biophysical Journal, a Cell Press publication, researchers provide new insights into how these spirochetes penetrate tissue barriers. The findings might be used to develop new treatment strategies to help affected patients or even prevent infections.
"We are one of the few groups that are trying to understand the physical interactions with the environment that make spirochetes such successful pathogens," says senior author Dr. Charles Wolgemuth of the University of Arizona in Tucson. "We've previously understood very little about how these bacteria move through and into our organs, tissues, and central nervous system, but our work sheds light on these processes and could form the basis for novel therapeutics that target the bacterium's ability to invade."
Timber Rattlesnakes Help Keep Lyme Disease in Check
Researchers suggest that timber rattlesnake, whose scientific name is Crotalus horridus, plays an important role in keeping Lyme disease in check.
Dr. Wolgemuth and his team, in collaboration with Dr. Justin Radolf at the University of Connecticut Health Center, found that the swimming speeds of the bacteria decrease with increases in the viscosity of their external environment, even though their motors—called flagella—are entirely intracellular. The team then used mathematical modeling to determine how these flagellar motors propel the undulating bacteria forward through viscous fluids. Finally, they fit their simulated data to their experimental data to reveal how external forces affect the movement of the Lyme disease and syphilis spirochetes.
Source: Eurekalert
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