Data reveal how the global challenge to reduce deaths and infections from drug-resistant bacteria is not going according to plan.

Immunity to cholera is largely mediated by antibodies targeting the O-specific polysaccharide (OSP) of Vibrio cholerae, including through agglutination as well as inhibition of bacterial motility. Here, we used bacterial transcriptomic, biochemical, and cellular analyses to evaluate additional effects of OSP-specific antibodies on V. cholerae in complex media containing mucin and in a human enteroid-derived monolayer colonization model. We found that anti-OSP antibody in mucin impacts bacterial motility, growth, metabolic activity, extracellular matrix production, and levels of cyclic di-GMP. We did not observe a direct effect on bacterial viability, sodium motive force gradient, membrane integrity for large molecules, or virulence gene or regulon expression in bacterial cultures, although cholera toxin detection was significantly decreased in the enteroid model. Our results uncover the broad impact of anti-OSP antibodies in the presence of mucin on V. cholerae physiology and suggest several ways OSP-specific antibodies mediate protection against cholera in humans.

Determinants of Vibrio cholerae transmission are incompletely understood. Here, the authors use an infant mouse model to show that events in the intestine govern inter-animal transmission and that bac...

Scientists warn against reading too much into the small experiment getting lots of buzz.

An observational longitudinal clinical trial, incorporating a SmartPill and metabolomics, reveals the role of host factors in shaping the gut microbiome in healthy human adults.

Peptidoglycan released by neighbouring kin or non-kin cell lysis induces physiological changes that protect from a range of stresses, including phage predation.

Kerala Health Department: The initiative is being carried out as part of the SPARK (Students Programme Against Antimicrobial Resistance Kerala) programme of the State Drugs Control Department in assoc...

New global study reports a 60% drop in global mortality from diarrheal diseases, but children and the elderly still have the highest death rates, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Disrupted endothelial function underlies the multiorgan complications of COVID-19

ABSTRACT The concept of translational research, which aims to facilitate the application of basic scientific discoveries in clinical and community settings, is currently in vogue. While there are powe...