Newsportal - Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Researchers have gained new insights into the mechanisms with which certain proteins help the immune defence mechanism in the human body. Viruses or bacteria are wrapped in membrane blebs and rendered harmless there. The blebs merge with certain cell organelles, lysosomes, which contain enzymes that degrade the pathogens.

As the current study showed, what are known as guanylate-binding proteins appear to help in allowing this fusion to take place. The mechanism behind this is described by researchers from the RUB’s cluster of excellence Resolv, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and the University of Cologne, together with other partners from Erlangen and Geneva, in the renowned journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.