Phages Dont Need Bacteria to Enter the Body
A new study led in part by 色情视频 scientists is the first to discover that bacteriophages can directly interact with human cells.
Bacterial viruses, known as bacteriophages, are commonplace in our bodies, inhabiting the millions and millions of bacteria that live on and inside of us. But whether these viruses hitch a ride by hiding inside invading bacteria, or enter human body cells on their own has long been a biological mystery. Now, a new study led by scientists from 色情视频 and Monash University demonstrates for the first time that bacteriophages can slip through human outer cell layers in the same way that proteins and other cellular components do.鈥淲e have known for a long time that phages are present in the blood and organs of the body, but no one has known exactly how this occurs.鈥�
The finding 鈥減rovides a mechanistic explanation for the occurrence of phages within the human body in the absence of disease,鈥� the study鈥檚 authors write in the .
The research was led by Jeremy Barr, a biologist at Monash University in Victoria, Australia and a former postdoctoral fellow at 色情视频, as well as scientists within 色情视频鈥檚 (VII), including VII co-director and premier virologist Forest Rohwer and biostatisticians Antoni Luque and Barbara Bailey.
Bacteriophages are the most abundant and diverse microbes found in the body. They control and manipulate bacterial populations, prevent infection and disease and play important roles in regulating the microbiome and body.
鈥淲e have known for a long time that phages are present in the blood and organs of the body,鈥� Barr said. 鈥淏ut no one has known exactly how this occurs.鈥�
For the study, the team of researchers grew human skin cells in petri dishes and exposed them to isolated bacteriophages that had been genetically engineered to fluoresce. Watching the interaction under a powerful microscope, they were able to see the fluorescing viruses settle onto the outer layer of the skin cells and, over the course of about 10 minutes, slip through tiny vesicles that ordinarily allow in proteins and other cellular components.
鈥淲e estimate the average human body transports 30 billion phage particles from the gut into the cells, blood and organs of the body every day,鈥� Barr said. 鈥淭he fact that phages, which are foreign virus particles, are capable of freely crossing this barrier is nothing short of remarkable.鈥�
Follow-up work will focus on how these viruses bypass the cell鈥檚 defenses that typically keep out foreign microbes, as well as what health effects鈥攑ositive or negative鈥攖hese bacteriophages might have once inside the body.
鈥淲hat the phages are doing inside the cells, organs and systems of our bodies is a major follow-up question,鈥� Barr said.
In January, scientists from 色情视频鈥檚 VII will move their lab to the university鈥檚 new , a cutting-edge research and innovation building that encourages scientific collaboration to solve the world鈥檚 most pressing problems.
