Microbiology publication gets the cover of Infection and Immunity - April 2011
Scientists from the APC and Department of Microbiology in UCC have investigated the mechanisms by which bacteria can grow in the gall bladder causing painful inflammation (cholecystitis). The condition is relatively common and generally requires removal of the gall bladder. However relatively few studies have investigated how bacteria can grow in this environment. The current work was carried out in the laboratory of Dr. Cormac Gahan by Georgina Dowd as part of her PhD studies and was directly funded through a Research Frontiers Programme Grant from Science Foundation Ireland.
The investigators utilised gall bladders from pigs as a model system for the analysis and showed that this environment readily supports bacterial growth. They focused upon the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes as this bacterium is known to colonise the gall bladder during infection of mice. They showed that Listeria utilises a specific subset of genes involved in metabolic processes (such a purine biosynthesis, biotin uptake and utilisation and amino acid biosynthesis) in order to grow in the gall bladder and that classical bile-resistance mechanisms are not important in this environment. The work is a first step towards understanding how bacteria grow in this environment and may provide a foundation to build future treatments for cholecystitis.
The cover picture shows Listeria monocytogenes growing within the porcine gall bladder. The article was also the subject of a Spotlight feature in the journal.
Reference: Dowd GC, Joyce SA, Hill C, Gahan CG. 2011. Investigation of the mechanisms by which Listeria monocytogenes grows in porcine gallbladder bile. Infection and Immunity. 79(1):369-79
