December 2, 2011: U of L Researcher Determines How Legionnaires' Bacteria Proliferate, Cause Disease
A scientist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky has determined how the bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease manipulates our cells to generate the amino acids it needs to grow and cause infection and inflammation in the lungs.
Yousef Abu Kwaik, Ph.D and his team believe their work could help lead to development of new antibiotics and vaccines to combat the disease.
“It is possible that the process we have identified presents a great target for new research in antibiotic and vaccine candidates, not only for Legionnaires’ disease, but in other bacteria that cause illness,” Kwaik said.
After examining Legionella for two years, researchers discovered that the bacteria tricks host cells into providing an “atkins diet” of low carbs and high protein. This begins in the water systems that Legionella exist by tricking the amoebae in the water systems to “tag” proteins in its cellular process.
Kwaik explained, "Whether in a single-cell amoeba or a multi-cellular mammal, Legionella seems to know what to do; the process is the same, and is highly conserved through evolution. By interfering with the bacterium's sources of nutrients, we can stop it from thriving and causing disease."
