Dr. Ekpenyong publishes in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Infectious diseases, in which pathogens invade and colonize host cells, are responsible for one third of all mortality worldwide. Host cells use special proteins (immunoproteins) and other molecules to fight viral and bacterial invaders. The mechanisms by which immunoproteins enable cells to reduce bacterial loads and survive infections remained unclear until some physicists and biologists teamed up to unravel the mystery. They found that cells, amazingly, alter their physical properties (precisely, their stiffness) in a manner that reduces bacterial burden.
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