Single Strep Bacteria Protein Sets Off White Blood Cell’s Early Warning System
Group A Streptococcus bacteria — the cause of strep throat and flesh-eating infections — have been well studied for nearly a century. But researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences recently made a surprising discovery: strep’s M protein alone wipes out macrophages, but not other types of immune cells. The macrophages’ self-sacrifice serves as an early warning of infection to the rest of the immune system.
