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Bacteria make us feel pain... and suppress our immune response
From MedicalXpress:
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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (green) forms an invasive bolus in subcutaneous tissue following infection that forms direct contact with sensory nerve fibers (red). Formyl peptides and pore-forming toxins produced by these bacteria directly activate firing at the nerve terminals, leading to pain sensations. Credit: Balthasar Heesters and Isaac Chiu
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The pain of invasive skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and possibly other serious, painful infections, appear to be induced by the invading bacteria themselves, and not by the body's immune response as previously thought, report scientists at Boston Children's Hospital. What's more, their research demonstrates that once the pain neurons "sense" the bacteria, they suppress the immune system, potentially helping the bacteria become more virulent.
The study, conducted in a mouse model and published online by the journal Nature on August 21, could change the way doctors think about a variety of invasive, painful infections, such as meningitis, necrotizing fasciitis, urinary tract infections, dental caries and intestinal infections.
"If we could block pain in infected tissues and also block what pain neurons do to the immune system, it could help us treat bacterial infections better," says Isaac Chiu, PhD, the study's first author and a neuro-immunologist in the laboratory of Clifford Woolf, PhD, at Boston Children's F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Program.
more ...
[/center]
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (green) forms an invasive bolus in subcutaneous tissue following infection that forms direct contact with sensory nerve fibers (red). Formyl peptides and pore-forming toxins produced by these bacteria directly activate firing at the nerve terminals, leading to pain sensations. Credit: Balthasar Heesters and Isaac Chiu
[hr]
The pain of invasive skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and possibly other serious, painful infections, appear to be induced by the invading bacteria themselves, and not by the body's immune response as previously thought, report scientists at Boston Children's Hospital. What's more, their research demonstrates that once the pain neurons "sense" the bacteria, they suppress the immune system, potentially helping the bacteria become more virulent.
The study, conducted in a mouse model and published online by the journal Nature on August 21, could change the way doctors think about a variety of invasive, painful infections, such as meningitis, necrotizing fasciitis, urinary tract infections, dental caries and intestinal infections.
"If we could block pain in infected tissues and also block what pain neurons do to the immune system, it could help us treat bacterial infections better," says Isaac Chiu, PhD, the study's first author and a neuro-immunologist in the laboratory of Clifford Woolf, PhD, at Boston Children's F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Program.
more ...
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