Lectins are common proteins that bind to carbohydrates and that play a role, amongst other things, in the formation of bacterial biofilms.
Detailed description
Lectins can specifically adhere to cells because of their binding to carbohydrates. That way, they influence various metabolic pathways. Lectins are also produced by bacteria such as the pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa. By binding to sugar molecules on bacteria, lectins link these molecules and induce formation of a biofilm, in which the immune system cannot fight the bacteria.
Alexander Titz’s research group focuses on biofilms, which is a slimy layer that bacteria produce to physically protect themselves against the immune system and against antibiotics. For example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a dreaded hospital pathogen, is a member of this group of bacteria and uses ...
The overall goal of the DZIF Academy is to close the gap of multidisciplinary training approaches within infection research in order to master the biological complexities associated with infectious
Breaking down bacterial biofilms in order to lure the pathogens out of hiding is one of chemist Dr Alexander Titz’s goals. The junior research group leader from the Helmholtz Institute for
This summer there will be a particularly large amount of ticks and thus a higher risk of getting meningitis or Lyme disease (borreliosis), because these diseases are transmitted by ticks. Scientists
Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria are hospital germs and are often resistant to common antibiotics. They can infect all human organs and implants, and can persist in the body for long periods of time in
DZIF researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) produced a molecule that provides a way to visualise Pseudomonas infection. The scientists published their
