Weird Way Lyme Disease Bugs Avoid Immune System

Weird Way Lyme Disease Bugs Avoid Immune System

The bacterial infection that is transmitted by ticks, can cause fever, fatigue, headaches, rashes and is known as Lyme Disease, has a secret weapon for staying hidden from the human immune system. A new study finds that the bacterium that causes Lyme Disease is able to substitute magnesium in its diet instead of iron, making it the first known organism to live without iron.By doing this, the bacterium can evade the immune system, which attacks invaders by starving them of iron. Researchers have now discovered that the bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi)  causes the disease by using a large amount of manganese to make an important enzyme. This discovery might be able to produce new treatments for the disease. Valeria Culotta, a molecular biologist at the John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health says, "The best targets are enzymes that pathogens have, but people do not, so they would kill the pathogens but not harm people."

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Link: http://www.livescience.com/28120-lyme-disease-manganese.html