Get ready for cold and flu season with this groundbreaking new study from Penn State researchers! According to the study, the increase in mucus during cold and flu season is exactly what bacteria use to launch an attack on the immune system. The team discovered that the thicker the mucus, the more effective bacteria are at spreading. This could have major implications for new treatments and combating antibiotic resistance.
The study, published in the journal PNAS Nexus, shows how bacteria use mucus to organize and potentially drive infections. Using synthetic pig stomach mucus, natural cow cervical mucus, and a water-soluble compound called polyvidone, the research revealed that bacteria move more effectively in thick mucus compared to watery substances.
This research sheds light on how bacteria colonize mucus and mucosal surfaces, while also revealing how mucus enhances bacterial collective motion, potentially leading to antibiotic resistance for bacterial colonies.
Huck Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Igor Aronson, and corresponding author on the paper, commented, “We have shown that mucus, unlike liquids of similar consistency, enhances the collective behavior.”
Mucus is essential for protecting against pathogens, but is also the host material for bacterial infections. By better understanding bacteria’s ability to swarm in mucus, new strategies can be developed to combat infections and antibiotic resistance.
“Our findings demonstrate how mucus consistency affects the random motion of individual bacteria and influences their coordinated, collective motion of large bacterial groups,” Aronson said.
Mucus is a challenging substance to study due to its combination of liquid-like and solid-like properties, making this research particularly important for understanding how mucus becomes infected.
Using microscopic imaging techniques, the team was able to observe the collective motion of bacteria in synthetic pig stomach mucus, natural cow cervical mucus, and water-soluble polymer polyvidone, providing valuable insight into how mucus and bacteria interact.