研究表明炭疽病的内部机制
NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters Health) - Scientists report that they have learned more about how the anthrax bacterium attacks the body. Their findings eventually may lead to better treatment for the illness.
Once the bacterium, Bacillus anthracis, enters the body, it releases a toxin that invades cells. The toxin has three parts. One part, the protective antigen (PA), attaches to human cells, allowing the other two parts--edema factor and lethal factor--to enter the cell.
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A team of researchers led by Dr. John A. T. Young of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has identified the receptor on human cells where PA attaches itself. The receptor, anthrax toxin receptor (ATR), is a single protein found on the cell surface.
In a step that may open the door to new types of treatment for anthrax, Young's team genetically manipulated a part of ATR to keep PA from binding to cells.
Young and his colleagues isolated the specific region on ATR to which PA binds. The researchers then released this part of the molecule into the area surrounding cells. Instead of binding with cells--and opening the door for the deadly portions of the toxin--anthrax PAs were mopped up by the bits of ATR.
, 百拇医药
The findings will be published in the November 8th issue of the journal Nature, but they are being released early in the online edition of the journal.
In another report in Nature, Dr. Robert C. Liddington of the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, California, and colleagues report the mapping of the three-dimensional structure of all 6,000 atoms in one key component of the anthrax toxin.
Antibiotics currently used to treat anthrax cases, including ciprofloxacin, or Cipro, act by killing anthrax bacteria, but they do not neutralize the toxin, Liddington explained to Reuters Health.
, http://www.100md.com
"If antibiotics are not given soon enough after infection, they cannot save the infected person, who dies of toxic shock from the action of the toxin," Liddington said.
According to the California researcher, drugs designed to target the anthrax toxin could save the lives of people whose anthrax infections are not detected early. Since people are alert to the threat of anthrax right now, most people are being treated with antibiotics in time, Liddington noted.
, http://www.100md.com
But Liddington questioned whether that will always be the case if heightened awareness of the threat of anthrax diminishes. "Will people still check their mail carefully or be suspicious of white powders 1 or 5 years from now?" Liddington asked.
Knowing the three-dimensional structure of the anthrax toxin should make it possible to develop drugs to neutralize it, according to Liddington. He added that he and his colleagues are collaborating with scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the US Army to develop such drugs., 百拇医药
Once the bacterium, Bacillus anthracis, enters the body, it releases a toxin that invades cells. The toxin has three parts. One part, the protective antigen (PA), attaches to human cells, allowing the other two parts--edema factor and lethal factor--to enter the cell.
, http://www.100md.com
A team of researchers led by Dr. John A. T. Young of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has identified the receptor on human cells where PA attaches itself. The receptor, anthrax toxin receptor (ATR), is a single protein found on the cell surface.
In a step that may open the door to new types of treatment for anthrax, Young's team genetically manipulated a part of ATR to keep PA from binding to cells.
Young and his colleagues isolated the specific region on ATR to which PA binds. The researchers then released this part of the molecule into the area surrounding cells. Instead of binding with cells--and opening the door for the deadly portions of the toxin--anthrax PAs were mopped up by the bits of ATR.
, 百拇医药
The findings will be published in the November 8th issue of the journal Nature, but they are being released early in the online edition of the journal.
In another report in Nature, Dr. Robert C. Liddington of the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, California, and colleagues report the mapping of the three-dimensional structure of all 6,000 atoms in one key component of the anthrax toxin.
Antibiotics currently used to treat anthrax cases, including ciprofloxacin, or Cipro, act by killing anthrax bacteria, but they do not neutralize the toxin, Liddington explained to Reuters Health.
, http://www.100md.com
"If antibiotics are not given soon enough after infection, they cannot save the infected person, who dies of toxic shock from the action of the toxin," Liddington said.
According to the California researcher, drugs designed to target the anthrax toxin could save the lives of people whose anthrax infections are not detected early. Since people are alert to the threat of anthrax right now, most people are being treated with antibiotics in time, Liddington noted.
, http://www.100md.com
But Liddington questioned whether that will always be the case if heightened awareness of the threat of anthrax diminishes. "Will people still check their mail carefully or be suspicious of white powders 1 or 5 years from now?" Liddington asked.
Knowing the three-dimensional structure of the anthrax toxin should make it possible to develop drugs to neutralize it, according to Liddington. He added that he and his colleagues are collaborating with scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the US Army to develop such drugs., 百拇医药