{"id":23327,"date":"2025-03-06T00:19:14","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T01:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=23327"},"modified":"2025-03-06T01:27:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T01:27:26","slug":"scientists-discover-new-part-of-the-immune-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=23327","title":{"rendered":"Scientists discover new part of the immune system"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-0 haItSe\">\n<div class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-1 cjDa-dM\">7 minutes ago<\/p>\n<p><!--$!--><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 oYtVL dRvUPz dXDmtS\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 iQJDhl cCYQUA kItbpD\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Save<\/span><\/button><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--$!--><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 oYtVL dRvUPz dXDmtS\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 iQJDhl cCYQUA kItbpD\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Save<\/span><\/button><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 ejjhCR\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/5b5c29e0-fa02-11ef-8253-81408cbb565c.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Getty Images A woman with long red hair sneezes into a white tissue\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><span class=\"sc-a34861b-2 hesJxn\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">A new part of the immune system has been discovered and it is a goldmine of potential antibiotics, scientists have said.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">They&#8217;ve shown a part of the body known to recycle proteins has a secret mode that can spew out an arsenal of bacteria-killing chemicals.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">The researchers in Israel say it transforms our understanding of how we are protected against infection.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">And gives a new place to look for antibiotics to tackle the growing problem of superbugs that resist our current drugs.<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">The discovery centres on the proteasome \u2013 a tiny structure that is found in every cell of the body.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Its main role is to chop up old proteins into smaller chunks so they can be recycled to make new ones.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">But a series of experiments, <!-- --><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-08615-w\" class=\"sc-c9299ecf-0 beIoQm\">detailed in the journal Nature<!-- --><\/a>, shows the proteasome detects when a cell has been infected by bacteria.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">It then changes structure and role. It starts transforming old proteins into weapons that can rip open the outer layer of bacteria to kill them.<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jFCfG\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 cOpVbP hide-when-no-script\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1a3dc8b0-fa02-11ef-8253-81408cbb565c.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Weizmann Institute of Science Two side by side pictures of bacteria under a microscope, one is healthy and one is rupturing and leaking it&#039;s contents.\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><span class=\"sc-a34861b-2 hesJxn\">Weizmann Institute of Science<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Prof Yifat Merbl, from the Weizmann Institute of Science, told me: &#8220;This is really exciting, because we never knew that this was happening.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;We discovered a novel mechanism of immunity that is allowing us to have a defense against bacterial infection.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;It&#8217;s happening throughout our body in all the cells, and generates a whole new class of potential natural antibiotics.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">The research team went through a process they called &#8220;dumpster diving&#8221; to find these natural antibiotics.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">They were tested on bacteria growing in the laboratory and on mice with pneumonia and sepsis. The researchers said they were getting results comparable to some established antibiotics.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">And when the researchers took cells in the laboratory and disabled the proteasome they were far easier to infect with bacteria like Salmonella.  <!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jFCfG\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 cOpVbP hide-when-no-script\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/3ec6e4d0-fa04-11ef-8253-81408cbb565c.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Weizmann Institute of Science Group of six scientists - five women and a man - taking a group picture, most wearing white lab coats in a laboratory setting.\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><span class=\"sc-a34861b-2 hesJxn\">Weizmann Institute of Science<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Prof Daniel Davis, the head of life sciences and an immunologist at Imperial College London, said the findings were &#8220;extremely provocative and very interesting&#8221; as they changed our understanding of how our body fights infection.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;What&#8217;s really exciting about this, is it&#8217;s a totally undiscovered process by which anti-germ molecules are made inside our cells, it feels profoundly important and surprising.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">But he cautioned that turning this into a new source of antibiotics is an idea that &#8220;still needs to be tested&#8221; and that will take time.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">More than a million people a year are estimated to die from infections that are resistant to drugs like antibiotics. <!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">But despite the need, there has been a lack of research into developing new antibiotics to keep up with demand.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Against that bleak background, having somewhere new to look is a source of optimism for some scientists. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Dr Lindsey Edwards, a senior lecturer in microbiology at King&#8217;s College London, told the BBC: &#8220;It&#8217;s a potential goldmine for new antibiotics, that&#8217;s quite exciting.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;In previous years it&#8217;s been digging up soil [to find new antibiotics], it is wild that it&#8217;s something we have within us, but comes down to having the technology to be able to detect these things.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">She also says there could be fewer issues with developing them into drugs because they are already products of the human body so the &#8220;safety side of it might be a lot easier&#8221;.<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>7 minutes ago<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23327"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23333,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23327\/revisions\/23333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}