iansmith
Nov5-04, 06:54 PM
Study in Science finds that cells can use process to entrap bacteria | By Charles Q Choi
Non-immune cells can eliminate invading bacteria effectively by enveloping them with autophagic machinery, Japanese researchers report in the November 5 Science.
"We found a new function of autophagy," coauthor Tamotsu Yoshimori at the National Institute of Genetics in Mishima-Shizuoka, Japan, told The Scientist.
In a healthy, uninfected cell, autophagy breaks down damaged, atrophied, or excess cell parts to keep the cell functioning properly. Research groups worldwide over the last decade have observed autophagosome-like compartments that contained bacteria such as Rickettsia conorii and Listeria monocytogenes, hinting autophagy could act as an innate host defensive pathway. Still, the significance of this encapsulation remained unclear.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20041105/01
Non-immune cells can eliminate invading bacteria effectively by enveloping them with autophagic machinery, Japanese researchers report in the November 5 Science.
"We found a new function of autophagy," coauthor Tamotsu Yoshimori at the National Institute of Genetics in Mishima-Shizuoka, Japan, told The Scientist.
In a healthy, uninfected cell, autophagy breaks down damaged, atrophied, or excess cell parts to keep the cell functioning properly. Research groups worldwide over the last decade have observed autophagosome-like compartments that contained bacteria such as Rickettsia conorii and Listeria monocytogenes, hinting autophagy could act as an innate host defensive pathway. Still, the significance of this encapsulation remained unclear.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20041105/01