PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Life-saving in the bacterial world: How Campylobacter rely on Pseudomonas to infect humans

2010-10-08
(Press-News.org) Many a holiday is ruined by food poisoning, frequently caused by the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni. Although Campylobacter infections are rarely life-threatening they are extremely debilitating and have been linked with the development of Guillain-Barré syndrome, one of the leading causes of non-trauma-induced paralysis worldwide.

Campylobacter jejuni is well adapted to life in the guts of animals and birds, where it is often found in very high levels. However, to infect humans it also needs to be able to survive outside the gut, on the surface of meat that will be eaten by humans. It is known that C. jejuni cannot grow under normal atmospheric conditions – the levels of oxygen are too high for it – so how it survives was until recently unknown. The mystery has now been solved by Friederike Hilbert and colleagues at the Institute of Meat Hygiene, Meat Technology and Food Science of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.

The surface of meat harbours a number of species of bacteria that – fortunately – are rarely harmful to humans, although they are associated with spoilage. It seems possible that the various species interact and Hilbert hypothesized that such interactions might help bacteria such as Campylobacter jejuni survive under hostile, oxygen-rich conditions. She thus tested the survival of C. jejuni in the presence of various meat-spoiling bacteria. When incubated alone or together with bacteria such as Proteus mirabilis or Enterococcus faecalis, Campylobacter survived atmospheric oxygen levels for no longer than 18 hours. However, when incubated together with various strains of Pseudomonas, Campylobacter were found to survive for much longer, in some cases over 48 hours, which would be easily long enough to cause infection.

There were differences in the extent of prolonged survival depending on the sources of the Campylobacter analysed but all isolates of all strains clearly survived significantly longer in the presence of Pseudomonas bacteria than when cultured alone. And the Campylobacter cells did not change shape when cultured together with Pseudomonas under oxygen-rich conditions, unlike when they were cultured alone, providing further indications of an interaction between the species. Interestingly, there is no evidence that the Pseudomonas benefit at all from the interaction, although they effectively save the lives of the Campylobacter.

Hilbert's findings show clearly that the presence of Pseudomonas bacteria is responsible for significantly enhanced survival of the disease-causing Campylobacter bacteria on the surface of meat. The results have implications for the control of meat, especially poultry, destined for human consumption. As Hilbert says, "On the basis of this study it should be possible to elucidate new mechanisms for limiting the level of Campylobacter on chicken meat and thus the incidence of food poisoning could be much reduced."

INFORMATION: The paper Survival of Campylobacter jejuni under Conditions of Atmospheric Oxygen Tension with the Support of Pseudomonas spp. by Friederike Hilbert, Manuela Scherwitzel, Peter Paulsen and Michael P. Szostak is published in the September issue of the Journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology (Vol. 76, 5911-5917). The work was funded in part by the European Commission via an FP6 project, PoultryFlorGut (contract no. FOOD-CT-2005-007076).

About the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna

The University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna is the only academic and research institution in Austria that focusses on the veterinary sciences. About 1000 employees and 2300 students work on the campus in the north of Vienna, which also houses the animal hospital and various spin-off-companies.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Greater priority should be given to stroke prevention in developing countries

2010-10-08
Increased global attention and research needs to be given to stroke prevention and the social and economic effects of the condition in developing countries, according to an academic at the University of East Anglia (UEA). In a paper published in the current issue of the journal Development Policy Review, Prof Peter Lloyd-Sherlock of the School of International Development argues that policy-makers have been slow to recognise the growing scale of the challenge and impacts of stroke in developing countries. He calls for them to prioritise preventative screening and drug ...

Neural responses indicate our willingness to help

2010-10-08
Witnessing a person from our own group or an outsider suffer pain causes neural responses in two very different regions of the brain. And, the specific region activated reveals whether or not we will help the person in need. Researchers at the University of Zurich studied the brain responses of soccer fans and now have neurobiological evidence for why we are most willing to help members of our own group. Our reactions to shocking news clips on television demonstrate that human beings can remain remarkably cool in the face of other peoples' suffering. And yet, we are also ...

Education program developed for preventing antisocial behavior in 3-year-old children

Education program developed for preventing antisocial behavior in 3-year-old children
2010-10-08
University of Granada researchers have developed a pioneer intervention program aimed at 3 year-old children, that helps in preventing antisocial behavior in adulthood. In its first year of implementation, the program –named Aprender a convivir– achieved that 90% of participating children interacted more actively with their peers, and that 86% reduced symptoms such as anxiety/depression, somatization, poor emotional reactivity, shyness, and social isolation. To carry out this study –funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science–, the researchers took a sample ...

New computer switches handle heat that renders transistors useless

2010-10-08
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have taken the first step to building a computer capable of operating in the heat of a jet engine or the sunny side of the planet Mercury. Te-Hao Lee, Swarup Bhunia and Mehran Mehregany, have made electromechanical switches – building blocks of circuits - that can take twice the heat that renders electronic transistors useless. Their work was published in Science last month. The engineers took their cue from English inventor Charles Babbage, who built a steam-driven machine to calculate mathematical tables in the 1830s. ...

Patient personality hinders detection of depression

2010-10-08
Patient personality affects the accuracy of reports by friends and family members of mood history and symptoms and can cause missed diagnoses of depression, according to research published online by the journal International Psychogeriatrics. Friends and family members of a person who is highly outgoing and fun-loving and who is likely to experience happiness and excitement, for example, often miss the signs that indicate the person is depressed. "When a person who has enjoyed socializing and whose mood normally is positive becomes depressed, friends and family often ...

Reducing blood transfusions improves patient safety and cuts costs

2010-10-08
MAYWOOD, Ill. -- A Loyola University Hospital study has demonstrated how the hospital has improved patient safety and cut costs by reducing the number of blood transfusions. In 2009, the average amount of blood products transfused per patient at Loyola was 10 percent lower than it was in 2008, saving $453,355. The average amount of blood products transfused dropped from 2.03 units per patient in 2008 to 1.82 units per patient in 2009. Results were reported at the recent annual meeting of the College of American Pathologists. "We are giving the right blood component, ...

The elusive intermediary

2010-10-08
Photosynthesis is the process used by plants to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into the energy-rich chemicals upon which all life-forms depend. The energy trapped in these compounds comes from sunlight, and photosynthetic organisms – plants, algae and certain types of bacteria – capture this energy in a usable form with the help of protein complexes called photosystems. Photosystems include antenna proteins that collect incident light, and green plants have two sorts of photosystems, which respond best to light of different wavelengths. A team of researchers at LMU, ...

Report examines effects of noise and recommends ways to reduce levels

2010-10-08
Exposure to noise is a fact of life. At high levels, noise can damage hearing, and at lower levels it can disrupt sleep patterns, interfere with communications, and even cause accidents. A new National Academy of Engineering report characterizes the most commonly identified sources of noise, looks at efforts that have been made to reduce noise emissions, and suggests ways to decrease exposure in workplaces, schools, recreational environments, and residences. Development of noise control technology needs immediate attention, said the committee that wrote the report. America ...

NIH funds advanced development of 3 biodefense vaccines

2010-10-08
### For more information, visit NIAID's Vaccines Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/vaccines/Pages/Default.aspx and Biodefense Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/biodefenserelated/Pages/default.aspx. NIAID conducts and supports research-at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov. The ...

Despite highest health spending, Americans' life expectancy falls behind other countries'

2010-10-08
October 7, 2010—America continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance—obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities and homicide—are not to blame, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The study looked at health spending; behavioral risk factors like obesity and smoking; and 15-year survival rates for men and women ages 45 and 65 in the U.S. and 12 other nations -- Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Osteoporosis treatment benefits people older than 80

Consuming more protein may protect patients taking anti-obesity drug from muscle loss

Thyroid treatment may improve gut health in people with hypothyroidism

Combination of obesity medication tirzepatide and menopause hormone therapy fuels weight loss

High blood sugar may have a negative impact on men’s sexual health

Emotional health of parents tied to well-being of children with growth hormone deficiency

Oxytocin may reduce mood changes in women with disrupted sleep

Mouse study finds tirzepatide slowed obesity-associated breast cancer growth

CMD-OPT model enables the discovery of a potent and selective RIPK2 inhibitor as preclinical candidate for the treatment of acute liver injury

Melatonin receptor 1a alleviates sleep fragmentation-aggravated testicular injury in T2DM by suppression of TAB1/TAK1 complex through FGFR1

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals Shen-Bai-Jie-Du decoction retards colorectal tumorigenesis by regulating the TMEM131–TNF signaling pathway-mediated differentiation of immunosuppressive dendritic ce

Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B Volume 15, Issue 7 Publishes

New research expands laser technology

Targeted radiation offers promise in patients with metastasized small cell lung cancer to the brain

A high clinically translatable strategy to anti-aging using hyaluronic acid and silk fibroin co-crosslinked hydrogels as dermal regenerative fillers

Mount Sinai researchers uncover differences in how males and females change their mind when reflecting on past mistakes

CTE and normal aging are difficult to distinguish, new study finds

Molecular arms race: How the genome defends itself against internal enemies

Tiny chip speeds up antibody mapping for faster vaccine design

KTU experts reveal why cultural heritage is important for community unity

More misfolded proteins than previously known may contribute to Alzheimer’s and dementia

“Too much going on”: Autistic adults overwhelmed by non-verbal social cues

What’s driving America’s deep freezes in a warming world?

A key role of brain protein in learning and memory is deciphered by scientists

Heart attacks don’t follow a Hollywood script

Erin M. Schuman wins 2026 Nakasone Award for discovery on neural synapse function and change during formation of memories

Global ocean analysis could replace costly in-situ sound speed profiles in seafloor positioning, study finds

Power in numbers: Small group professional coaching reduces rates of physician burnout by nearly 30%

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage: A comprehensive review of CCUS-EOR

New high-temperature stable dispersed particle gel for enhanced profile control in CCUS applications

[Press-News.org] Life-saving in the bacterial world: How Campylobacter rely on Pseudomonas to infect humans