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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Humans and bacteria rely on the same aeons-old immune defence

Bacteria fending off viruses rely on a form of cell death also used by mammals to fight infection.
Negative stain electron microscopy of Runella gasdermin pores in DOPC liposomes

Some bacteria have a molecular pathway that creates destructive holes in cell membranes (honeycomb structure at centre) in response to pathogens — a mechanism already known in mammals Credit: A. G. Johnson et al./Science

At first glance, bacteria and humans seem to have little in common. But scientists have discovered that the cells in our bodies and some of Earth’s single-celled microorganisms use a similar strategy to fight off invaders1.

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Nature 601, 300 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00005-w

References

  1. Johnson, A. G. et al. Science http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj8432 (2022).

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