Understanding How the Blood-Brain Barrier is Breached in Bacterial Meningitis

October 5, 2016

Simon Fraser University professor Lisa Craig is part of an international research team that has revealed the most detailed structure to date for a Type IV pilus. Courtesy of SFU

Craig, a professor in SFU's Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and SFU research associate Subramania Kolappan, have worked with researchers at the Institut Necker Enfants Malades in Paris and the University of Virginia School of Medicine to reveal the most detailed structure to date for a "Type IV pilus". These pili are long, thin filaments that extend from a bacterial surface.



"Normally, the tight association of these endothelial cells prevents bacteria from passing across the blood vessel walls," says Craig. "This network of blood vessels is called the blood-brain barrier."



Using x-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional image reconstruction, the researchers revealed, for the first time, a detailed molecular structure of the N. meningitidis Type IV pilus. This gives scientists a glimpse into how this microbe can bind to, and disrupt, endothelial cell junctions in order to breach the blood-brain barrier.


"This helps us to understand the structure, function and assembly of Type IV pili, which are present on many bacterial pathogens," says Craig.




Source: Simon Fraser University