At least two bacterial species are capable of spreading by hitchhiking on the body's own immune cells, according to a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill.
Here are five things to know:
1. The study, titled "trogocytosis-associated cell to cell spread of intracellular bacterial pathogens," published online in eLife.
2. The two bacteria species moving in this hitchhiking manner are: Francisella tularensis, which causes a potentially lethal infection known as tularemia, and Salmonella enterica, a common cause of foodborne illness.
3. These bacteria can survive inside immune cells known as macrophages. They keep their macrophage host alive for about 36 hours, giving the pathogen time to spread to other cells.
4. Additionally, the pathogens can use trogocytosis, the process during which two cells bump against each other, to infect new macrophages.
5. This discovery may offer a pathway to fight bacterial infections without contributing to antibiotic resistance.
