Previous studies indicated that blood serum (basically blood minus cells) helps neutrophils recognize their enemies, so Rubin-Bejerano decided to look for clues to their response in this mixture. She identified several proteins in serum that bind to beta-1,6-glucan, but not beta-1,3-glucan, and then pinpointed a molecule on the surface of the neutrophil that recognizes these proteins.
To link her experiments back to real fungi, Rubin-Bejerano worked with the pathogen Candida albicans, which is the most common fungus in blood stream infections. She used an enzyme to digest beta-1,6-glucan from the fungal cell wall, leaving the beta-1,3-glucan intact. She then unleashed the neutrophils on these altered cells and observed a 50 percent reduction in the immune response.
Our bodies maintain a fine balance between the immune system and microbes. Antibiotics and antifungals tilt the balance in favor of the immune system by targeting the microbes directly. A substance like beta-1,6-glucan could help tilt this balance further by stimulating immune cells.
Rubin-Bejeranos work offers hope for combating the growing problem of microbial infections, which can seriously threaten human healthparticularly in patients with compromised immune systems. In fact, Rubin-Bejerano co-founded a company called ImmuneXcite to explore this possibility.
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Contact: Alyssa Kneller
kneller@wi.mit.edu
617-258-6851
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
11-Jul-2007