Biologists found out why Listeria is difficult to fight

Potentially deadly bacterium Listeria is extremely well adapted to change. Scientists at the University of southern Denmark revealed how cunning Listeria is and why it is so difficult to deal with. The discovery may help in developing more effective ways of dealing with it.

Biologists have subjected the organism to the influence of a number of substances that can fight pathogenic bacteria. Listeria was treated with antibiotics, bile, salt, acid and ethanol, such as those often found in the diet, the human body, and in the treatment process.

As the man said Birgitte Kallipolitis: "Listeria used a variety of strategies that allowed her to resist the substances. Generally speaking, Listeria is extremely adaptive... It reacts instantly and has a number of strategies to withstand threats." The researchers also discovered that Listeria are the "expert of disguise" without attracting the unwanted attention of the immune system. Academic explains: "on the one hand, Listeria needs to produce some special proteins that enable it to infect cells in our body. On the other hand, it must ensure that the body's immune system did not find these proteins. It is vital for Listeria to keep a balance between the production of sufficient quantities of these proteins, but produce not so much that they showed up the immune system." It turned out that Listeria has begun to produce some special RNA molecules when it began to treat with antibiotics, bile, salt, acid and ethanol.

Kallipolitis: "With these RNA, the bacteria can adjust how much or how little you need to produce different proteins. For example, it can lower the production of the protein LAPb, which is used to log into our cells." In other words: Listeria can fine-tune the production of proteins needed to infect our cells to the point where I definitely can sneak through the defense of the immune system, but not so much that they found. The researchers believe: "the Understanding of how Listeria is able to survive antibiotics, the immune system and in disinfectants it is necessary to develop effective agents against life-threatening bacteria. Just looking at what the bacteria survive, we can destroy them."

Source: nauka24news.ru/