Bacterial Toxin With Healing Effects – ScienceDaily

Usually they are one of the many harmless organisms found in and on the human body: one in four people has millions of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteria on their skin and on the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract without being aware of it. In some cases, however, the harmless bacteria can turn into pathogens, which can lead to skin inflammation and lung infections or – in the worst case – to sepsis. “This happens especially when the bacteria multiply too quickly, for example when a person’s immune system is weakened by an infection or injury,” says Prof. Oliver Werz from the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena in Germany.

The professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and his team have investigated the molecular defense mechanisms of the human immune system in the fight against them Staphylococcus aureus Infections and made a surprising discovery. As the research team reports in the current issue of the journal Cell reports, the poisonous cocktail with that Staphylococcus aureus Damage to cells and tissues also has positive effects: Certain immune cells are stimulated by the bacterial toxin to produce special messenger substances that help reduce inflammation and promote tissue healing. Prof. Werz expects that this previously unknown mechanism will be of importance for future treatments of skin inflammation and chronic wounds.

Immune cells produce anti-inflammatory messenger substances

In their most recent study, the researchers from the University of Jena, the University Hospital Jena and the Leibniz Institute for Aging Research – Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), together with colleagues from the Harvard Medical School and the University of Naples, examined in particular the bacteria toxin? -Hemolysin “and examined its effect on M2 macrophages. M2 macrophages are immune cells that ensure in the later stages of an inflammatory reaction that killed bacteria and damaged cell components are removed and the tissue regenerates. “They are therefore a kind of cellular waste disposal”, describes Paul Jordan, doctoral student in Werz ‘team and main author of the publication, the function of these cells.

The researchers showed that & agr; -Hemolysin binds to specific receptor proteins on the surface of M2 macrophages and thus triggers the production of anti-inflammatory messenger substances in the cells, which then lead to the dissolution of the inflammation. In the study, the scientists were also able to show that these transmitters promote tissue regeneration in an animal model. The anti-inflammatory messenger substances include resolvins, maresins and protectins, which are formed from omega-3 fatty acids.

Source of the story:

Materials provided by Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Originally written by Ute Schönfelder. Note: The content can be edited by style and length.