Bacteria's hidden skill could pave way for stem cell treatments
A
discovery about the way in which bugs spread throughout the body could help to
develop stem cell treatments. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have
found that bacteria are able to change the make-up of supporting cells within
the nerve system, called Schwann cells, so that they take on the properties of
stem cells.
Because
stem cells can develop into any of the different cell types in the body --
including liver and brain cells -- mimicking this process could aid research
into a range of degenerative conditions.
Scientists
made the discovery studying bacteria that cause leprosy, which is an infectious
neurodegenerative disease. The study, carried out in mice, found that in the
early stages of infection, the bacteria were able to protect themselves from
the body's immune system by hiding in Schwann cells or glial cells.
Once
the infection was fully established, the bacteria were able to convert the
Schwann cells to become like stem cells.
Like
typical stem cells, these cells were pluripotent, meaning they could then
become other cell types, for instance muscle cells. This enabled the bacteria
to spread to tissues in the body.
The
bacteria-generated stem cells also have another unexpected characteristic. They
can secrete specialised proteins -- called chemokines -- that attract immune
cells, which in turn pick up the bacteria and spread the infection.
Scientists
believe these mechanisms, used by leprosy bacteria, could exist in other
infectious diseases.
Knowledge
of this newly discovered tactic used by bacteria to spread infection could help
research to improve treatments and earlier diagnosis of infectious diseases.
The study is published in the journal Cell.
Professor
Anura Rambukkana, of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Regenerative
Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, who led the research, said:
"Bacterial infections can completely change a cell's make up, which could
have a wide-range of implications, including in stem cell research.
"We
have found a new weapon in a bacteria's armoury that enables them to spread
effectively in the body by converting infected cells to stem cells. Greater
understanding of how this occurs could help research to diagnose bacterial
infectious diseases, such as leprosy, much earlier."
The
study, carried out in Professor Rambukkana's laboratories at the University of
Edinburgh and the Rockefeller University, was funded by the US National
Institutes of Health.
It
showed that when an infected Schwann cell was reprogrammed to become like a
stem cell, it lost the function of Schwann cells to protect nerve cells, which
transmit signals to the brain. This led to nerves becoming damaged.
Professor
Rambukkana added: "This is very intriguing as it is the first time that we
have seen that functional adult tissue cells can be reprogrammed into stem
cells by natural bacterial infection, which also does not carry the risk of
creating tumorous cells.
"Potentially
you could use the bacteria to change the flexibility of cells, turning them
into stem cells and then use the standard antibiotics to kill the bacteria
completely so that the cells could then be transplanted safely to tissue that
has been damaged by degenerative disease."
Dr Rob
Buckle, Head of Regenerative Medicine at the MRC, added: "This
ground-breaking new research shows that bacteria are able to sneak under the
radar of the immune system by hijacking a naturally occurring mechanism to
'reprogramme' cells to make them look and behave like stem cells. This
discovery is important not just for our understanding and treatment of
bacterial disease, but for the rapidly progressing field of regenerative
medicine. In future, this knowledge may help scientists to improve the safety
and utility of lab-produced pluripotent stem cells and help drive the
development of new regenerative therapies for a range of human diseases, which
are currently impossible to treat."
Professor
Rambukkana, who is Chair of Regeneration Biology at the MRC Centre for
Regenerative Medicine, is also a member of the University's Centre for Neuroregeneration
and Centre for Infectious Diseases.
Source: University
of Edinburgh
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