Researchers have discovered so-called "bacterial vampirism", identifying specific types of bacteria that are attracted to human blood, which can lead to deadly infections.
A team from Washington State University and Oregon State University described how these deadly bacteria are attracted to serum—the liquid part of blood—because of the nutrients and energy it provides. The study was published in the journal eLife.
This can be a particular problem for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), where intestinal bleeding can give bacteria an opportunity to enter the bloodstream. However, these results also shed light on potentially new treatment options.
"Bacteria that enter the bloodstream can be deadly," says microbiologist Arden Beilink of Washington State University. "We've learned that some of the bacteria that most commonly cause bloodstream infections sense chemicals in a person's blood and swim towards them."
To analyze the interaction between bacteria and blood, the researchers used a special device for injecting tiny portions of liquid and a powerful microscope. Strains of three bacteria known to cause deadly infections, Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Citrobacter koseri, were found to be attracted to human serum.
What's more, the team identified some biological interactions: It appears that the amino acid serine is one of the chemicals that bacteria can sense, seek out, and consume through certain protein receptors.
This doesn't take the bacteria long. In experiments conducted as part of the study, it took these types of bacteria less than a minute to realize that blood was nearby and move towards it.
The bacteria studied, from the family Enterobacteriaceae, have already been associated with diseases such as gastrointestinal bleeding and sepsis, especially when it comes to IBS.
It is assumed that these bacteria cling to internal bleeding, which often occurs in IBS, which leads to death. It is believed that about 1.3% of the US population, approximately 3.1 million people, have IBS, which can subsequently lead to other chronic diseases and health complications.
Knowing how bacteria sense and use serum in the blood could ultimately save lives if treatment is targeted specifically - although cloves of garlic and stakes in the heart probably have nothing to do with it.
"By understanding how these bacteria are able to detect sources of blood, we may be able to develop new drugs in the future that block this ability," says immunologist Sienna Glenn of Washington State University. “These drugs could improve the lives and health of people with IBS, who are at high risk of bloodborne infection.”
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