Rickettsia helvetica, virulence factors and cellular aspects of Pathogenicity

Important results from the project

The mobility grant allowed the candidate to spend 25% of her time for one year at Alpha Biotech, giving not just her personally but also the department at Uppsala University a natural link to the academic hospital and clinicians involved in the company. By using the combined expertise from the company and the candidate we could successfully complete our objective of identifying cells that were susceptible to infection by R. Helvetica as well as showing that macrophages were activated by the bacterial infection to release inflammatory cytokines.

Expected long term effects

The combined efforts of the grant holder from UU and the company Alpha Biotech has lead to the discovery that, R. Helvetica likely spreads through the body via multiple cell types. We also discovered their ability to infect macrophages and cause immune reaction. These results will help set the stage for better understanding the virulence factors of R. helvetica and lay the foundation for explaining the clinical symptoms of related disorders. The collaboration will continue and we will further investigate the entry mechanism of R. Helvetica into cells.

Approach and implementation

Our studies answered important questions regarding infectivity and effects on immune cell behavior. This was done by utilizing the combined knowledge of bacteria possessed by the company and the candidates expertise within the area of inflammation. Methods for studying inflammation in response to biomaterials and drugs at UU were adjusted and used at Alpha Biotech to test the response of macrophages when exposed to bacteria. This combined effort will continue and be used for further studies with R. Helvetica as well as for new projects concerning biomaterial associated infection.