The intestinal epithelium is continually renewing itself. This is bad news for bacteria such as Shigella flexneri, which infects cells that line the gut and causes dysentery in humans. Pasteur Institute microbiologist Mélanie Hamon chats about a paper that describes how this stomach bug has evolved a way to stay put (Nature, 459:578-82, 2009).
The Scientist: Is the highly regulated shedding of old gut epithelial cells and regrowth of those cells every 24 hours an innate defense mechanism against bacteria?
Mélanie Hamon: It’s important for a healthy individual to keep that epithelium. Otherwise bacteria that normally colonize the gut might get into the circulatory system and cause problems. But during an infection you also want to shed that epithelium to get rid of the bacteria. Shigella flexneri has a huge battery of different mechanisms with which it is able to manipulate its host. During Shigella infection, it’s important for the ...
