CU Biochemistry Aaron Whiteley Lab: Pursuing the link between bacteria, amyloid proteins, and human health
In microbial wars, bacteria suit up with a protein linked to Alzheimer’s
Amyloids are perhaps best known as a key driver of Alzheimer’s disease.
The amorphous proteins, found throughout the human body, stick to nerve cells like plaque, choking off their function and contributing to a host of neurodegenerative diseases.
According to new University of Colorado Boulder research published this month in the journal Nature, these oft-maligned proteins also serve a critical role for bacteria in our environment, enabling them to fight off other “predatory bacteria.”
“We discovered that bacteria all around us are using amyloids as a molecular suit of armor,” said senior author Aaron Whiteley, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry.
By better understanding how bacteria defend themselves against threats, scientists could ultimately develop new tools to kill microbes growing out of control in places like hospitals and food processing facilities, he said. Such research can also offer new insight into how the human immune system works.
“A lot of the cellular machinery that makes up our own immune system actually originated in bacteria a billion-plus years ago,” said Whiteley. “If we can understand how bacteria are using those genes, we can better understand how humans use them too and possibly turn that knowledge into new therapies.”
