A random conversation between two Cornell researchers at a child’s birthday party led to a collaboration and new understanding of how bacteria resist toxins, which may lead to new tools in the fight against harmful infections.
在一次孩子的生日聚會中，兩位美國康奈爾大學研究人員之間的隨意交談，導致了一項有關細菌如何抵抗毒素的合作及新理解。在對抗有害的感染上，這可能會引領出諸多新工具。
Physical forces have been known to affect how cells in our body grow and survive, but little has been understood about the role these forces play in prokaryotes – single-cell organisms, including bacteria.
已知物理力會影響細胞於人體中，如何生長及存活。不過，有關此些物理力，在包括細菌之原核生物(單細胞生物)中，扮演的角色鮮少已經被瞭解。
Christopher Hernandez, associate professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, had an idea for a microfluidic device that would subject individual bacteria to known amounts of force and mechanical deformation.
康乃爾大學西布利機械暨航太工程學院，及梅尼格生物醫學工程學院的副教授，Christopher Hernandez有一種，能使個體細菌曝露於量已知的力中，而發生機械變形之微流體裝置的構想。
But he knew of few ways to measure the effects – until a chance encounter with Peng Chen, the Peter J.W. Debye Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
不過，他知道很少測量此些效應的方法。直到一次與Peng Chen(康乃爾大學文理學院化學暨化學生物學系的Peter J.W. Debye教授)邂逅的機會。
Chen had developed a way to tag and observe a specific molecule that pumps toxins from the inner membrane of certain bacteria. By putting their ideas together, the researchers have shown conclusively that mechanical stresses can interrupt the ability of bacteria to survive exposure to toxins.
Chen已經研發出一種，標記並觀察從某些細菌內膜，抽出毒素之特定分子的方法。藉由將他們的構想整合在一起，此些研究人員已經決定性證實，機械應力能阻擾細菌，曝露於毒素時存活的能力。
Their paper, “Mechanical Stress Compromises Multicomponent Efflux Complexes in Bacteria,” published Nov. 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
他們標題“機械應力影響細菌多成分外排複合物”的論文，發表於2019年11月26日的《美國國科學院院刊》。
Gram-negative bacteria are characterized by their dual-membrane cell envelope and have the ability to assemble molecular pumps to rid themselves of toxic substances that manage to migrate into the cell, including antibiotics. Hernandez and Chen’s research showed that when E. coli bacteria were placed into a microfluidic device and forced to flow into very tight spaces, the resulting mechanical stresses alone were enough to cause these pumps to break apart and stop working.
革蘭氏陰性細菌是以其雙膜細胞包膜，及具有組合分子泵浦，來自行消除包括抗生素等，設法進入細胞內之有毒物質的能耐為特徵。Hernandez及Chen的研究證實，當大腸桿菌被置入微流體裝置中，並被迫流入非常狹窄的空間時，僅從而產生的機械應力就足以導致，此些泵浦分裂而停止運作。
“This is one of the first studies to look at the mechanobiology of bacteria,” Hernandez said. “Our findings provide evidence that bacteria are similar to other types of cells in that they respond to mechanical forces through molecular complexes.”
Hernandez宣稱：「這是探究細菌機械生物學的最早研究之一。他們的研究發現提供了，細菌在透過分子複合物，對機械力作出反應上，與其他類型細胞相似的證據。」
“Our work shows that you can disrupt the pump complex of bacteria with mechanical means,” Chen said, “and this may give us a new tool to enhance treatments of bacterial diseases.”
Chen宣稱：「他們的研究證實，能使用機械方法，來擾亂細菌的泵浦複合物。因此，這可能賦予人們一種，增強治療細菌性疾病的新工具。」
The methodology Hernandez and Chen created can be used to examine all sorts of prokaryotic cell structures, functions and behavior.
這種Hernandez及Chen創造的方法論，可能被用來檢視各種原核生物的細胞結構、功能及行為。
“Some possible next steps for us,” said Hernandez, “are to look at related complexes that also work at the dual-membrane cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria and to explore how these bacteria create this cell envelope to begin with.”
Hernandez宣稱：「對他們而言，一些可能的下一步是，探究也在革蘭氏陰性細菌雙膜細胞壁中，起作用的相關複合物，及探索此些細菌，如何開始產生這種細胞包膜。」
The transenvelope protein complexes that bacteria assemble to pump out toxins play a role not just in antibiotic resistance, but also in other crucial processes such as the translocation of outer-membrane components and cell division. If other types of these protein complexes are similarly affected by mechanical stresses, this suggests other physiological mechanisms in bacteria could be sensitive to mechanical forces, opening the door to possible enhanced treatments for a range of illnesses caused by bacteria.
細菌組合來吸出毒素之穿越包膜的蛋白複合物，不僅在抗生素的抗藥性上，而且在諸如外膜成分的移位及細胞分裂等，其他關鍵過程中，也扮演一種角色。倘若其他種類的上述蛋白複合物，同樣受到機械應力的影響。這暗示，細菌的其他生理機制，對機械力可能是敏感的。這為細菌引起的一系列疾病開啟了，可能增強治療之門。
原文網址：https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2019/12/physical-forces-affect-bacterias-toxin-resistance-study-finds
翻譯：許東榮
文章定位：
