Tug-of-War: How bacteria prevent host-cell suicide
When they battle bacteria, animal cells have a surefire way to keep infection from spreading: They drop dead. New research suggests that with tiny tugs on the attacked cells’ membranes, bacteria may pester the cells into living longer—and keeping infections going strong.
When an infected host’s cells die, they eliminate resources that the bacteria use to stay alive and spread. This self-sacrifice may save the animal’s life. But when too many host cells die, bacteria can kill a host before they’re ready to jump ship—thus hurting the bacterial species’ chances for survival.