The ky to unlock Chlamydia fusion

Taken from: https://phys.org/news/2019-06-key-bacterial-fusion.html

Most people know Chlamydia as the venereal disease that can cause infertility if left untreated. But for researchers studying the causative agent, Chlamydia trachomatis, it's a bacteria with intriguing properties. Rather than grow and replicate in the blood or other bodily fluids, C. trachomatis get inside cells where they multiply. In most people, this trait keeps the bacterium from being detected by the immune system, and helps the disease fly under the radar; not everyone infected with Chlamydia will show symptoms of the disease. But managing to stay alive inside an infected cell is no small feat for bacteria.

A synergistic collaboration between computational and experimental scientist have shed light in the mechanism employe dby C. trachomatis to fuse in the interior of living cells. The ability of C. trachomatis to fuse is directly related to its pathogenicity and therefore a deeper knowledge of the molecular mechanisms enables new target for the development of new therapeutic leads.