Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil, partnering with colleagues in Australia, have discovered a unique bacterial protein that can maintain the health of human cells even when they are heavily burdened with bacteria. This finding has the potential to lead to new treatments for a wide range of diseases related to mitochondrial dysfunction, including cancer and autoimmune disorders. Mitochondria are organelles that provide the majority of the chemical energy required for cellular biochemical reactions.
The study, published in the journal PNAS, involved the analysis of over 130 proteins released by Coxiella burnetii when it invades host cells. The researchers identified at least one protein that can extend cell longevity by directly affecting mitochondria.
Upon invading host cells, C. burnetii releases a previously unknown protein, referred to as mitochondrial coxiella effector F (MceF). MceF interacts with glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), an antioxidant enzyme located in the mitochondria, to enhance mitochondrial function by promoting an antioxidant effect that prevents cell damage and death. This is particularly important when pathogens replicate within mammalian cells.
“C. burnetii employs various strategies to prevent the death of invaded cells and multiply within them. One of these strategies is the modulation of GPX4 by MceF, which we discovered and reported in this article. The redistribution of these proteins within cellular mitochondria allows mammalian cells to survive longer even when they are infected with a large bacterial burden,” explained Dario Zamboni, one of the corresponding authors of the study and a professor at the Ribeirão Preto Medical School (FMRP-USP).
The research was conducted at the Center for Research on Inflammatory Diseases (CRID), one of FAPESP’s Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs), in collaboration with Hayley Newton, a professor at Monash University in Australia.
2023-11-09 19:41:09
Source from phys.org
