Bacterial ‘Sleeper Cells’ Undermine Host Defenses During Antibiotic Treatment

New research, from scientists at Imperial College London, unravels how so-called bacterial persister cells manipulate our immune cells. The work potentially opens new avenues to finding ways of clearing these bacterial cells from the body, and stopping recurrence of the bacterial infection. The latest findings, published in the journal Science, may help explain why some people suffer from repeated bouts of an illness, despite taking antibiotics. In the study, funded by the Medical Research Council, the Lister Institute and EMBO, the scientists, in collaboration with the Vogel lab at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research in Germany, studied bacterial cells of Salmonella called persisters. Previously, it was thought persisters are completely dormant. However the reality we revealed here is much scarier - Dr Peter Hill, study author Whenever bacteria such as Salmonella invade the body, many of the bugs enter a type of stand-by mode in response to attack by the body immune system, which means they are not killed by antibiotics. These bacteria persister cells stop replicating and can remain in this dormant, ‘sleeper-cell’ state for days, weeks or even months. When antibiotic treatment has been stopped, if some of these bacterial cells spring back to life, they can trigger another infection. Dr Sophie Helaine, senior author of the research from the MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection in Imperial’s Department of Medicine explained: “Persisters are often the culprit for repeat or hard-to-treat infections. The classic scenario is a person suffers some type of illness – such as a urinary tract infection or ear infection, and takes antibiotics that stop the symptoms, only for infection to return a few weeks later.” These persister cells are formed when bacteria are taken up by macrophages, which are human immune cells that have a key role in protecting the body against infections by engulfing bacteria and viruses. Once inside the macrophage, the persister can exist in this state in which antibiotics can’t kill it for weeks, or even months. https://www.technologynetworks.com/cell-science/news/bacterial-sleeper-cells-evade-antibiotics-and-weaken-defence-against-infection-312997?utm_campaign=Newsletter_TN_BreakingScienceNews&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=68220069&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8ZAKhmZmlscK8Gd-xEwPi_gIDvap1VxJCQanfcDR6fw0SOPOP8tusE4quD8s6Z1adt4bmsHPXZuQrAT7_wHG6VDmlVoA&_hsmi=68220069