(Press-News.org) Immune system defenses against dangerous bacteria in the gut can be breached by turning off a single molecular switch that governs production of the protective mucus lining our intestinal walls, according to a study led by researchers at Yale, the University of British Columbia, and the Weizmann Institute of Science.
"This gut microbiota has been linked to the inflammation that triggers obesity, diabetes, metabolic disease, and most of chronic health problems of the Western World," said Yale's Richard Flavell, Sterling Professor of Immunobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, and co-senior author of the paper appearing Feb. 27 in the journal Cell. "We knew these invaders were causing problems, but we didn't know how."
The walls of the intestine are shielded from potentially harmful bacteria by a thin mucus lining, which has been described as the body's demilitarized zone. The researchers found that production of this mucus lining depends upon a single immune system regulator — the NLRP6 inflammasome — that controls mucus secretion by cells in the wall of the intestine, just like turning on a faucet. In mice lacking the inflammasome, the faucet is closed, there is no mucus shield, and the mice are unable to fend off invaders. As a result, the intestinal wall becomes infected and inflamed, leaving the mice susceptible to conditions as diverse as inflammatory bowel diseases, colon cancer, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and fatty liver disease. All these conditions stemmed from the bacterial invasion of the intestinal wall.
"The next step is to identify the bacteria in humans, prove that the system works the same way it does in mice, and figure out how to dial up the protective shield," Flavell said.
INFORMATION:
Other corresponding authors of the paper were Eran Elinav of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel and B. Brett Finlay of UBC.
The research was funded by The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), The U.S. Department of Defense, Blavatnik Family Foundation. Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, European Research Council and The Israel Science Foundation.
Disease-causing bacterial invaders aided by failure of immune system switch
2014-02-27
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Fruit fly's pruning protein could be key to treating brain injury
2014-02-27
DURHAM, NC -- A protein that controls the metamorphosis of the common fruit fly could someday play a role in reversing brain injuries, said Duke University researchers.
This protein directs both the early development and regrowth of the tiny branches that relay information from neuron to neuron. Known as dendrites, these thin structures that resemble tree branches are responsible for receiving electrical impulses that flash throughout the body.
Incorrect dendrite development or injury has been linked to neurodevelopmental or psychiatric diseases in humans, such as autism, ...
An ancient 'Great Leap Forward' for life in the open ocean
2014-02-27
It has long been believed that the appearance of complex multicellular life towards the end of the Precambrian (the geologic interval lasting up until 541 million years ago) was facilitated by an increase in oxygen, as revealed in the geological record. However, it has remained a mystery as to why oxygen increased at this particular time and what its relationship was to 'Snowball Earth' – the most extreme climatic changes the Earth has ever experienced – which were also taking place around then.
This new study shows that it could in fact be what was happening to nitrogen ...
Discoveries point to more powerful cancer treatments, fewer side effects
2014-02-27
What if there were a way to make chemotherapy and radiation more effective as cancer treatments than they are today, while also getting rid of debilitating side effects that patients dread? A new study led by Alexey Ryazanov, a professor of pharmacology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, suggests the day that happens could be getting closer.
Side effects such as heart damage, nausea and hair loss occur when cancer therapy kills healthy cells along with the malignant cells that are being targeted. It ...
A world free from cancers: Probable, possible, or preposterous?
2014-02-27
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – February 27, 2014 – A panel of leading health, economics and policy experts today discussed the prospects for a future where cancers are rendered manageable or even eradicated and the variables affecting progress toward that goal so that cancer patients are able to lead normal, productive lives – and thus be "free from" their cancers. The forum was hosted by Research!America and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The event, titled, "A World Free from Cancers: Probable, Possible, or Preposterous?" was held at the New York Academy of Sciences.
Medical ...
Math anxiety factors into understanding genetically modified food messages
2014-02-27
People who feel intimidated by math may be less able to understand messages about genetically modified foods and other health-related information, according to researchers.
"Math anxiety, which happens when people are worried or are concerned about using math or statistics, leads to less effort and decreases the ability to do math," said Roxanne Parrott, Distinguished Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Health Policy and Administration. "Math anxiety also has been found to impair working memory."
The researchers found that math anxiety led to a decrease ...
Google Glass could help stop emerging public health threats around the world
2014-02-27
The much-talked-about Google Glass — the eyewear with computer capabilities — could potentially save lives, especially in isolated or far-flung locations, say scientists. They are reporting development of a Google Glass app that takes a picture of a diagnostic test strip and sends the data to computers, which then rapidly beam back a diagnostic report to the user. The information also could help researchers track the spread of diseases around the world. The study appears in the journal ACS Nano, a publication of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific ...
Faster anthrax detection could speed bioterror response
2014-02-27
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Shortly following the 9/11 terror attack in 2001, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news outlets and government buildings killing five people and infecting 17 others. According to a 2012 report, the bioterrorism event cost $3.2 million in cleanup and decontamination. At the time, no testing system was in place that officials could use to screen the letters. Currently, first responders have tests that can provide a screen for dangerous materials in about 24-48 hours. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have worked with a private ...
Montreal researchers find a link between pollutants and certain complications of obesity
2014-02-27
Montréal, February 27, 2014 – A team of researchers at the IRCM in Montréal led by Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret, in collaboration with Jérôme Ruzzin from the University of Bergen in Norway, found a link between a type of pollutants and certain metabolic complications of obesity. Their breakthrough, published online this week by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, could eventually help improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiometabolic risk associated with obesity, such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Although obesity is strongly ...
Battery-free technology brings gesture recognition to all devices
2014-02-27
Mute the song playing on your smartphone in your pocket by flicking your index finger in the air, or pause your "This American Life" podcast with a small wave of the hand. This kind of gesture control for electronics could soon become an alternative to touchscreens and sensing technologies that consume a lot of power and only work when users can see their smartphones and tablets.
University of Washington computer scientists have built a low-cost gesture recognition system that runs without batteries and lets users control their electronic devices hidden from sight with ...
Bisphenol A (BPA) at very low levels can adversely affect developing organs in primates
2014-02-27
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that is used in a wide variety of consumer products, such as resins used to line metal food and beverage containers, thermal paper store receipts, and dental composites. BPA exhibits hormone-like properties, and exposure of fetuses, infants, children or adults to the chemical has been shown to cause numerous abnormalities, including cancer, as well as reproductive, immune and brain-behavior problems in rodents. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have determined that daily exposure to very low concentrations of ...