Immunology

Bacteria and immune cells forge a productive partnership

To prevent infection, the intestinal wall relies on the support of its own 'home-grown' army of commensal bacteria. These gut microbiota collaborate with and are in turn regulated by their host's immune system via a variety ...

Immunology

Immune response to bacteria—distinguishing helpers from harmers

Some staphylococcus bacteria live peacefully on human skin and membranes in a mutually beneficial relationship with their host, while others are able to exist far from a human host in soil or in water. When we come into contact ...

Medical research

Bacteria producing nitric oxide extend life in roundworms

Nitric oxide, the versatile gas that helps increase blood flow, transmit nerve signals, and regulate immune function, appears to perform one more biological feat— prolonging the life of an organism and fortifying it against ...

Medical research

Friends in low places preserve gut health

The bacterial communities that live in our intestines should not be considered freeloaders—they contribute substantially to our well-being in a number of ways, including assisting in the breakdown of otherwise indigestible ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Good bacteria armed with antibiotic resistance protect gut microbiome

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland have discovered that populating the gastrointestinal (GI) tracts of mice with Bacteroides species producing a specific enzyme helps protect the good commensal ...

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