A type of bacteria that can cause stillbirth and fatal illness in newborns attacks with an unlikely weapon: an orange pigment made of fat.
This pigment mutilates infection-fighting immune system cells, enabling the bacteria — Group B Streptococcus — to quickly cross the placenta and invade the amniotic sac, a new study in monkeys shows. In one case, it took as little as 15 minutes for the bacteria to cross the protective membrane, researchers report October 14 in Science Immunology.