Bacterial toxins are typically associated with infections, illnesses, and disease. It was recently discovered that the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus causes infections and, at the same time, secretes a toxin that promotes healing in damaged tissue.
The study by the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Universitat Jena) was published in the journal Cell Reports. When S. aureus infects people, it produces a toxic compound called a-hemolysin which was recently discovered to stimulate tissue regeneration.
How infection and inflammation occur from bacterial toxins are still not completely understood by researchers. As inflammation occurs, the team discovered that specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPM) are activated, which enhances bacterial clearance while promoting tissue repair, wrote the authors.
Staph Infections
SPMs are molecules that send signals to inflamed areas in the body. These molecules have been developed to treat numerous inflammatory conditions through nutrition therapy and essential fatty acid supplementation.
S. aureus bacteria is typically a harmless bacteria that people have on the skin or respiratory system but may cause skin inflammation in mild cases. Severe infections result in lung infection, urinary tract infection, or sepsis, the immune system's extreme reaction to blood infection which may result in toxic shock syndrome.
Sepsis occurs "when the bacteria multiply too fast, for example when a person's immune system is weakened by an infection or injury," said Professor Oliver Werz. With further research, the specialized messenger substance from S. aureus can be used to develop skin inflammation and treat wounds.
Current treatment for staph infections includes oral antibiotics and antibiotic ointments as there is no vaccine to prevent S. aureus infections. However, some staph strains are antibiotic-resistant such as Methicillin-resistant S. aureus.
Before the availability of antibiotics, nearly 80% of S. aureus sepsis patients died. Those with immune deficiencies or suppressed immune systems are at high risk of developing severe cases.
There is a wide range of symptoms depending on the severity of staph infections, such as Staphylococcal pneumonia or infection to the heart valves, joints, or veins. Signs of S. aureus from contaminated food may result in vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration.
Read Also : Connecticut Public Health Officials Warn of Dangerous Bacteria Lurking in Salt, Brackish Waters
A-Hemolysin Toxin
During the study, the toxin a-hemolysin was tested on immune cells called M2 macrophages. These cells are responsible for ensuring bacterial clearance and removing damaged cells, followed by tissue repair.
In a way, said researcher Paul Jordan, M2 macrophages type of cellular waste disposal. A-hemolysin binds to specific proteins on M2 macrophages and triggers the production of anti-inflammatory substances to infected cells. The messenger substances are omega-3 fatty acids such as protectins and resolvins.
One of the alarming problems of treating severe infections is that no new antibiotics have been developed in the past 30 years as viruses and bacteria continue to involve and become antibiotic-resistant. "Given the current antibiotic crisis," wrote the authors, "there is a need to better understand the molecular mechanisms of how bacterial infections contribute to the active resolution of inflammation through the induction and biosynthesis of SPMs."
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