Researchers from the Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona of the Spanish National Research Council (IBMB-CSIC) and the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (IBB-UAB) have discovered the mechanism by which the bacterium called Mycoplasma genitalium (Mge), which can cause a sexually transmitted disease (STD), adheres to the human cells.
The work has been carried out in Xaloc light cell lines of the Alba Synchrotron, which has allowed determining the three-dimensional structure of adhesin (protein that adheres to the cells) to locate its exact position, as reported by the UAB in a statement.
Simultaneously, ‘in vivo’ studies have also been carried out with human cells and have shown that mutations in specific sites of this protein prevent the binding of Mge.
These results have made it possible to understand the molecular bases of Mge binding with human cells and, in turn, to develop alternative drugs to antibiotics, capable of blocking the adhesion of bacteria to cells with molecules that minimize cellular receptors or stimulate formation of antibodies that inhibit the function of adhesins.
Mge is a pathogen responsible for various genitourinary infections, in the case of men is one of the main causes of urethritis, and in women is associated with cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, premature birth and miscarriage.
Source: Agencia ID
