Route of infection

Investigators in microbial pathogenesis have described a secretion system that many bacteria—including those that cause plague, dysentery and typhoid—use to infect other cells. The type III secretion system found in Salmonella is a hollow, needle-like structure that delivers bacterial proteins into a host cell. “Many pathogens use a similar mechanism,” said principal investigator Jorge E. Galan, Ph.D., chair of the Section of Microbial Pathogenesis, of the findings published in the November 1 issue of Nature. “Insight into any of them gives you insight into all of them. From this fundamental information we can begin to develop completely new therapeutic strategies to halt or prevent infections by these pathogens.”