Author: Madeline Barron
Editors: Genesis Rodriguez, Alyse Krausz, and Emily Glass
Bacteria are bubbly organisms—literally. As they go about the business of living, many bacteria pinch off little blebs of their outer membrane to form outer membrane vesicles, or OMVs. OMVs are tiny orbs (about 4,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair) that pack a big functional punch. They contain proteins that scavenge nutrients for bacteria to eat, serve as “decoys” that bind up antibiotics and protect bacteria from certain death, and deliver compounds to host cells that cause disease and trigger an immune response. To this end, scientists have sought to exploit the immune-stimulating power of OMVs to generate vaccines that help protect people from bacterial infections. Thus, OMVs may be small, but they could be a mighty weapon to help us keep bacterial pathogens at bay.
Continue reading “Bacterial outer membrane vesicles: Little membrane blebs with big vaccine potential”
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