SAN DIEGO, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- University of California-San Diego scientists have found so-called flesh-eating "strep" bacteria use an enzyme to break free of the body's immune system.
The researchers say their discovery might lead to new treatments for serious infections in human patients.
The research, reported in the Feb. 21 issue of the journal Current Biology, focuses on the major human pathogen group A Streptococcus. Among the most important of all bacterial pathogens, strep is responsible for a wide range of diseases -- from simple throat and skin infections to life-threatening conditions such as necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating disease, and toxic shock syndrome.
"These findings suggest a novel approach to treating serious strep infections ... by assisting our body's own defense system," said senior author Dr. Victor Nizet, associate professor of pediatrics and an infectious diseases physician at San Diego Children's Hospital.
The study was financed a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Co-authors were Amelia Simpson, UCSD undergraduate; Sascha Kristian, postgraduate researcher in pediatrics; Dr. George Liu, UCSD research fellow in pediatric infectious diseases; and James Feramisco, professor of pharmacology and medicine; and Ramy Aziz and Malak Kotb, both of the University of Tennessee-Memphis.
