The Abacus 2.0 supercomputer helps discover a previously unknown infection route used by the bacteria that cause the shigellosis, an intestinal infectious disease characterized by bloody diarrhea.
The bacteria that cause the shigella intestinal disease use a toxin that exploits a physical force in the membrane of cells. Though difficult to block, it is possible to fight with nanoparticles exploiting the same force.
An enormous number of diseases are a result of bacterial and virus infections. These pathogens gain entry into cells of the body through several routes. A new study jointly led by EPFL now reports the discovery of a previously unknown infection route used by the bacteria that cause the shigellosis, an intestinal infectious disease characterized by bloody diarrhea. In the newly discovered mechanism, the Shigella bacteria exploits a generic force that is created by the fluctuations of the cell’s own plasma membrane. The work is published in ACS Nano.
The study was carried out by John Ipsen at the University of Southern Denmark, Ludger Johannes at the Institut Curie in France and Julian Shillcock at EPFL.
See also: Sådan angriber diarre-bakterier
