Investigating the role of blood group antigens in campylobacter infections

研究血型抗原在弯曲杆菌感染中的作用

• 批准号: G0901696/1
• 负责人: Dlawer Ala'Aldeen
• 金额: $ 119.63万
• 依托单位: University of Nottingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2010 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=G0901696%2F1
• 关键词: Investigating; role; blood; group; antigens

The bacterium Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most important causes of food poisoning worldwide. It can cause a spectrum of illness from mild diarrhoea to severe dysentery-like illness. Although not normally life-threatening, these infections are very common and are costly in terms of time taken off work and healthcare-associated costs. Occasionally Campylobacter disease results in very serious complications including the life-threatening neurological disease Guillain-Barre syndrome. The bacterium normally lives in the gut of wild and domesticated animals, notably chickens. Improper handling and undercooking of chicken are major sources of human infection. At present we do not have a good understanding of the factors that affect colonisation of animals or disease in humans. A better understanding of these complex processes will be necessary to design new strategies for preventing colonisation of domesticated animals, especially chickens, as well as human disease. We have shown two Campylobacter surface molecules, called FlaA and MOMP, to be involved in binding to receptors on human blood cells and intestinal cells. We propose to characterise the interaction between the bacteria and human cells that are mediated by these molecules. We also propose to determine whether these molecules are also important in colonisation of chickens. The information gained may lead to the development of agents that interfere with these interactions, and thus reduce both contamination of chicken meat, as well as reduce human disease.

空肠弯曲杆菌（Campylobacter jejuni）是世界范围内引起食物中毒的最重要原因之一。它可引起一系列疾病，从轻度腹泻到严重的痢疾样疾病。虽然通常不会危及生命，但这些感染非常常见，并且在请假时间和医疗保健相关费用方面代价高昂。弯曲杆菌病有时会导致非常严重的并发症，包括危及生命的神经系统疾病格林-巴利综合征。这种细菌通常生活在野生和家养动物的肠道中，尤其是鸡。处理不当和未煮熟的鸡肉是人类感染的主要来源。目前，我们还没有很好地了解影响动物定植或人类疾病的因素。更好地了解这些复杂的过程对于设计新的策略来防止家畜，特别是鸡的定植以及人类疾病是必要的。我们已经展示了弯曲杆菌的两种表面分子，FlaA和MOMP，它们与人体血细胞和肠细胞上的受体结合。我们提出表征细菌和人类细胞之间的相互作用是由这些分子介导的。我们还建议确定这些分子在鸡的定植中是否也很重要。获得的信息可能导致干扰这些相互作用的药剂的发展，从而减少鸡肉的污染，以及减少人类疾病。