How the Nordic EMBL Partnership is helping to fight COVID-19
Written by Annabel Darby
Whilst each of the Nordic EMBL Partnership nodes have different but complementary research focuses, the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has undoubtedly become a common theme for all four of our Nordic EMBL Partnership nodes (DANDRITE, FIMM, MIMS, NCMM). Alltogether, the four nodes are now working on over fourteen projects, with more in the pipeline. To read the summary of all ongoing projects, please visit: How the Nordic EMBL Partnership is helping to fight COVID-19
The mammalian gut is home to a tremendous number of microorganisms, termed the gut microbiota. This peaceful community helps to digest complex carbohydrate, such as dietary fibers, and provides the body with important nutrients and other molecules. At the same time, however, this bacterial community may become a danger to the body when it is not safely contained in the intestine. Thus, to separate the gut bacterial community from the body, the intestinal surface is covered with a mucus layer, which as a physical barrier that keeps the gut bacteria at a good distance from the gut wall.
A significant number of bacterial pathogens has the capacity to invade human cells and to exploit the interior of the host cell as growth niche. The bacteria reprogram host cellular functions to promote their growth and to suppress the intrinsic defense systems of the host cell. Pathogens have evolved to protect or compromise the viability of the host cell as their survival and life cycle within the cell depends on it. This interplay between host and microbe can be very complex. For instance, after a phase of growth, intracellular bacteria may actively induce cell death to promote their release and spread. While in other cases, the host cell may activate molecular suicide programs as defense response to restrict pathogen growth by removing the growth niche.
For his innovative research project on the infection biology of microsporidia, Jonas Barandun has been awarded a prestigious Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC), funded with 1.5 million euros over five years. Dr. Barandun joined Umeå University from The Rockefeller, University, New York, in January 2019 to start a research group at the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden.
Scientists have created the first cell atlas of mosquito immune cells, to understand how mosquitoes fight malaria and other infections. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Umeå University, Sweden and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, discovered new types of mosquito immune cells, including a rare cell type that could be involved in limiting malaria infection. They also identified molecular pathways implicated in controlling the malaria parasite.
