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.
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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.