Elucidating Host-microbe Interactions to Address Vector-borne Diseases
July 08, 2024
by Serena Crawford
Article Excerpts:
In a new study, Yale researchers identified the targets in the human body to which pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, and other vectors bind. Their findings, they say, could help address the rising threat of vector-borne diseases, a leading cause of death worldwide.
The study was published in Cell.
“We wanted to better understand the precise mechanisms by which pathogens interact with humans to infect the host and cause disease,” said first author Thomas Hart, PhD, postdoctoral associate at Yale School of Medicine (YSM). “To do so, we tested for interactions between thousands of human proteins and dozens of microbial pathogens, then examined the importance of those identified,” he said.
Pathogens must interact with host molecules, namely host proteins, to infect a host, evade the immune system, and cause symptoms, Hart explained.
One surprising finding was that Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, appears to interact with epidermal growth factor (EGF), said corresponding author Erol Fikrig, MD, Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and professor of microbial pathogenesis at YSM; and professor of epidemiology (microbial diseases) at the Yale School of Public Health. “Why Borrelia interacts with EGF and what that does for Borrelia pathogenesis is not yet known, and that could have implications for Lyme disease,” he said.
Many of the host-microbe interactions uncovered were unpredictable and unexpected, revealing a suite of novel host-pathogen interactions that can potentially be leveraged to create new classes of anti-infectives that target unique and previously unknown host-microbe interaction nodes, Palm added. (See link for article)
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 