Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Exploring Bacterial Competition in Reproductive Tract Infections
Disease Discoveries

Exploring Bacterial Competition in Reproductive Tract Infections

By Sarah PlumridgeMar 5, 2015
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
This immunofluorescence picture shows a neutrophil extracellular trap stained and associated gonococci (small spheres).

Northwestern Medicine scientists have shown that Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria that causes the sexually-transmitted disease gonorrhea, may have evolved to manipulate host immune responses to enhance infection and outcompete other bacterial species.

Previous studies from the laboratory of H. Steven Seifert, PhD, professor in Microbiology-Immunology, reported that the gonorrhea bacteria – also called gonococci –suppresses many antimicrobial responses of the host. In the current study, Carl Gunderson, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow, used gonococcal mutants to learn more about the relationship between gonorrhea bacteria and leukocytes, a type of white blood cell.

“A lot of work has been published on the bacteria and leukocyte interactions, but the factors driving infection are not fully understood,” Seifert said.

In the current study, published recently in mBio, Gunderson and Seifert found evidence that gonococci can induce and suppress the activity of leukocytes and that this activity is dependent on the ratio of bacteria to host cells. The study also found that the bacteria cause leukocytes to release DNA and other nuclear material to create structures, called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), to capture and kill microbes other than gonococci.

Gunderson and Seifert investigated the role of NETs in gonococcal infection and demonstrated that the gonococci resist NETs antimicrobial mechanisms, while other bacteria in the reproductive tract are effectively killed. The ability of gonococci to manipulate leukocyte function suggests that the bacterium has evolved strategies to modify leukocyte function to promote infection.

“The fact that the gonococci are not killed and other commensal bacteria are killed is an open possibility that the gonococci are increasing competitive fitness,” Seifert said.

In future studies, the Seifert laboratory will determine the mechanisms behind the ability of the bacteria to suppress leukocytes and activate production of NETs.

“The next two questions we’d like to answer are one: what are the bacterial factors that are responsible for eliciting this response? And two: what are the post-cell neutrophil pathways that are affected?” he said.

The research was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01 AI044239, R37 AI033493 and T32 AI747614.

Microbiology Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Feinberg Investigators Identify How a Residential Neighborhood Can Impact Health

Sep 22, 2023
Sep 22, 2023

Robert Lamb, Renowned Expert on Influenza Virus, Dies at 72

Sep 22, 2023

Combination Immunotherapy Shows No Additional Benefit for Most Advanced Cancers

Sep 21, 2023

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Feinberg Investigators Identify How a Residential Neighborhood Can Impact Health

Sep 22, 2023

Robert Lamb, Renowned Expert on Influenza Virus, Dies at 72

Sep 22, 2023

Bethany Ekesa, Associate Director of SPARC, Honored with Jean E. Shedd University Citizenship Award

Sep 21, 2023

Combination Immunotherapy Shows No Additional Benefit for Most Advanced Cancers

Sep 21, 2023

Novel Intracellular Signaling Mechanisms Promote Melanoma Growth

Sep 21, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20230914_NM461
20230914_NM644
20230914_NM345
20230914_NM444
20230914_NM464
20230914_NM520
20230914_NM673
20230914_NM641
20230914_NM612
20230914_NM608
20230914_NM602
20230914_NM597

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.