Editor: Akhmetova Aigerim
Translator: Bolysbek Dana
Author: Bolysbek Dana
N. meningitidis is a bacterium that is commonly found in the nasal cavity in 10-15 percent of people. As a rule, such bacteria do not cause any disease. However, if some people do not use etiotropic therapy, these bacteria can lead to rapid death within a few hours.
In a study published in The Lancet Microbe, scientists have linked RNA mutations within the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis to invasive meningococcal disease, noting that for the first time, non-coding RNA in the bacteria has been linked to disease progression.
Research began in 2017 after a strain of the bacterium N. meningitidis was bred from a Swedish teenager who died of meningococcal meningitis. When compared with another strain of the same bacterium bred from an asymptomatic person, the researchers found a mutation in a regulatory non-coding RNA molecule known as RNA thermosensor, or RNAT, in a strain from a deceased teenager.
This discovery prompted researchers to begin searching and investigating more than 7,000 N. meningitidis RNAT configurations from all over Europe. In total, the researchers have identified five new RNAT variants that may be associated with the disease, meaning that they are more likely to appear in people who had become ill.
These strains had one thing in common in that they produced more and more capsules that isolated the bacterium and thus helped it evade the body's immune system.
As part of the study, the researchers also developed a rapid PCR test that differentiates between these RNAT mutations.
“In the future, this PCR test can be combined with a simple nasal swab in the clinic, and thus will facilitate the rapid identification of these mutations and subsequent treatment,” concludes Edmund Lo.
This discovery also supports further research into the potential involvement of this and other noncoding RNAs in bacterial disease.
Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-people-ill-meningococcal-bacteria.html
