Scientists have shown that a protein called NLRP11 has an essential role in the immune system; it alerts the body that a bacterial infection is occurring, triggering an immune response that battles the bacterial invader. NLRP11 appears to identify bacteria that are taken up by immune cells called macrophages, by recognizing a part of the bacterial coat. These findings have provided new insights into our understanding of the immune response to bacterial infection, and have been reported in Science Immunology.
The NLRP11 protein is expressed by humans, but not mice, which are a common animal model for infection. In this study, the researchers overcame that gap by using a mouse model that expressed a so-called humanized immune system. Humanized mice have been grafted with human cells and tissues so they replicate human biological functions more accurately.
Leave a reply