A science lab at UNLV. Photo Credit: Josh Hawkins / University of Nevada, Las Vegas |
The legendary Alexander Fleming, who famously discovered penicillin, once said “never to neglect an extraordinary appearance or happening.” And the path of science often leads to just that. New UNLV research is turning the page in our understanding of harmful bacteria and how they turn on certain genes, causing disease in our bodies.
A team of interdisciplinary scientists, led by professor and microbiologist Helen Wing, focuses on Shigella – a lethal bacterial pathogen that causes abdominal cramping, fever, and diarrhea. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Shigella cases lead to 600,000 deaths globally each year.
Shigella contains a major ‘switch’ protein (VirB), which triggers the bacterium to cause disease in humans. VirB does this by binding to Shigella’s DNA, activating the disease. The researchers showed that it is possible that interfering with VirB’s binding process can prevent Shigella from making us sick.