Study finds key mechanism for how typhoid bacteria infects

  • A new study has uncovered key details for how the Salmonella bacteria that causes typhoid fever identifies a host’s immune cells and delivers toxins that disrupt the immune system and allow the pathogen to spread
  • The study identifies three subunits on a typhoid toxin protein, one of which is key for delivering the toxin into host cells
  • The findings open the door to develop small molecules that block the high affinity trisaccharides and inhibit the toxin from binding to and entering the target cell