Science seen: A “wheel of death” for bacteria

The innate immune system acts like a border patrol for the body, picking up bacteria and other invading pathogens using molecular sensors. One key player is the inflammasome, a multi-protein complex depicted here through cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Using structural biology tools like cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography, the Wu lab in Boston Children’s Hospital’s Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine show how protein components come together in inflammasomes to form a “wheel of death” against bacterial infection.
Once they detect an invader, inflammasomes send out signals that trigger infected cells to die using an inflammatory death pathway called pyroptosis. They also call for backup from the adaptive immune system, in the form of inflammation. (Image: Wu laboratory/Liman Zhang)
Related Posts :
-
Could the right dietary fat help boost platelet counts?
Aside from transfusions, there currently is no way to boost people’s platelet counts, leaving them at risk for uncontrolled ...
-
Tackling an aggressive, treatment-resistant lymphoma where it lives
Anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is the most common aggressive lymphoma in children. Chemotherapy and radiation ...
-
One-time treatment could block a deadly form of graft-versus-host disease
Even when a bone marrow transplant cures leukemia or lymphoma, patients can still pass away from graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), in ...
-
From bench to bedside: A promising option for unremitting ulcerative colitis
Many existing treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, like Remicade® and Humira®, work by blocking inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis ...