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Public release date: 10-Dec-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Rita Sullivan King
news@rupress.org
212-327-8603
Rockefeller University Press
The orientation of antibody binding to bacteria can mean life or death to the bug, according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine on December 10th. These findings may help explain why these bacteria cause millions of localized infections, but more serious, systemic blood infections are rare.
Streptococcus pyogenesthe causative agent of strep throattypically invades the body's mucosal surfaces, including the throat and skin. These invasions are kept in check by Y-shaped immune proteins called antibodies, which attach to the bug via their arm (or "Fab") regions. This exposes the stalk ("Fc") portion of the antibody, which is then recognized by immune cells, allowing them to ingest and kill the bacteria. Certain bacteria, including S. pyogenes, fight back by expressing surface proteins that bind the Fc region of antibodies, rendering them invisible to patrolling immune cells.
The new study by Pontus Nordenfelt of Harvard University and his colleagues at Lund University in Sweden suggests that the bacteria have the upper hand in the mucosa, but the immune system wins out in the blood. The scientists found that antibodies in saliva attached to bacteria primarily via their Fc regions, but in blood the orientation was reversed, resulting in swift killing of the bug by immune cells.
The orientation of binding was dictated by the local antibody concentrationlow antibody levels (as in saliva) favored Fc-mediated binding; high antibody levels (as in blood) favored Fab-mediated binding. How this works is not entirely clear, but it's possible that the Fc binding proteins on the bacteria become saturated in the high-antibody environment of the blood, permitting free antibody to bind in the opposite orientation.
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About The Journal of Experimental Medicine The Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM) is published by The Rockefeller University Press. All editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted are made by active scientists in conjunction with our in-house scientific editors. JEM content is posted to PubMed Central, where it is available to the public for free six months after publication. Authors retain copyright of their published works and third parties may reuse the content for non-commercial purposes under a creative commons license. For more information, please visit www.jem.org.
Nordenfelt, P., et al. 2012. J. Exp. Med. doi:10.1084/jem.20120325
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 10-Dec-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Rita Sullivan King
news@rupress.org
212-327-8603
Rockefeller University Press
The orientation of antibody binding to bacteria can mean life or death to the bug, according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine on December 10th. These findings may help explain why these bacteria cause millions of localized infections, but more serious, systemic blood infections are rare.
Streptococcus pyogenesthe causative agent of strep throattypically invades the body's mucosal surfaces, including the throat and skin. These invasions are kept in check by Y-shaped immune proteins called antibodies, which attach to the bug via their arm (or "Fab") regions. This exposes the stalk ("Fc") portion of the antibody, which is then recognized by immune cells, allowing them to ingest and kill the bacteria. Certain bacteria, including S. pyogenes, fight back by expressing surface proteins that bind the Fc region of antibodies, rendering them invisible to patrolling immune cells.
The new study by Pontus Nordenfelt of Harvard University and his colleagues at Lund University in Sweden suggests that the bacteria have the upper hand in the mucosa, but the immune system wins out in the blood. The scientists found that antibodies in saliva attached to bacteria primarily via their Fc regions, but in blood the orientation was reversed, resulting in swift killing of the bug by immune cells.
The orientation of binding was dictated by the local antibody concentrationlow antibody levels (as in saliva) favored Fc-mediated binding; high antibody levels (as in blood) favored Fab-mediated binding. How this works is not entirely clear, but it's possible that the Fc binding proteins on the bacteria become saturated in the high-antibody environment of the blood, permitting free antibody to bind in the opposite orientation.
###
About The Journal of Experimental Medicine The Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM) is published by The Rockefeller University Press. All editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted are made by active scientists in conjunction with our in-house scientific editors. JEM content is posted to PubMed Central, where it is available to the public for free six months after publication. Authors retain copyright of their published works and third parties may reuse the content for non-commercial purposes under a creative commons license. For more information, please visit www.jem.org.
Nordenfelt, P., et al. 2012. J. Exp. Med. doi:10.1084/jem.20120325
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/rup-om120612.php
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