Infectious Diseases

I see that yet another infectious micro-organism has been found to hide in vacuoles inside cells

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/sfeb-hpc012709.php.

In this case it is Helicobacter pylori, the main cause of ulcers that now joins the agents of Legionnaire's disease, listeriosis,  Lyme disease, Crohn's disease, and tuberculosis in using this strategy.   Presumably it also suppresses the mechanism that normally merges such vacuoles with lysosomes to destroy the pathogen. Perhaps autophagy induction by protein cycling would override the suppression and eliminate this organism as well.  Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine stated "This study also has potential implications for new anti-H. pylori drugs that target the enhancement of autophagy."  Indeed this subject deserves  its own chapter in the book and has been added.