Gonorrhoea: Challenging the Immune Defenses with Metal Piracy

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the culprit behind the sexually transmitted infection known as gonorrhea, poses a
significant challenge to public health worldwide (Cornelissen, 2017). This bacterium has managed to outsmart our immune defenses by adopting a strategy called metal piracy. You see, our bodies starve these microbes of vital metals like iron and zinc, which are essential for their survival (Liyayi et al., 2023). But N. gonorrhoeae has developed a way to overcome this nutritional immunity, making it resistant to many antibiotics (Bala & Sood, 2010). Now, here’s where it gets interesting. To combat this bacterium, we need to find attractive targets for vaccines or drug therapies. And that’s where nutrient transporters come into play (Cornelissen, 2017). These transporters, which are conserved in sequence, expressed in the body, necessary for the bacterium’s survival, and conveniently located on its surface, make for excellent targets (Cornelissen, 2017). In my study, I focused on the znuABC transport system. This system is responsible for the uptake of manganese and zinc, which are crucial nutrients for N. gonorrhoeae and I wanted to understand how this system is regulated in the presence of manganese.

During this research opportunity, I broadened my knowledge and skills in the field of translational immunology by learning new techniques including RNA research using RNA robots, western blotting, and maintaining gonococcus cultures in a metal-chelex medium.

This project not only helped me develop academic research skills, but it offered me important opportunities for personal and professional development. One such opportunity was presenting my findings to an audience of graduate students, allowing me to effectively communicate my research and gain insights from different perspectives. Furthermore, handling the project on my own helped me acquire beneficial project management skills as well as the capacity to transform complicated data into translational findings. Overall, this opportunity proved to be a valuable learning experience, allowing me to polish my skills, discover new research techniques, and build critical project management skills.

Citations:

Bala, M., & Sood, S. (2010). Cephalosporin resistance in Neisseria Gonorrhoeae. Journal of Global Infectious Diseases, 2(3), 284. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-777x.68537 

Cornelissen, C. N. (2017). Subversion of nutritional immunity by the pathogenic neisseriae. Pathogens and Disease, 76(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/femspd/ftx112 

Liyayi, I. K., Forehand, A. L., Ray, J. C., & Criss, A. K. (2023). Metal piracy by Neisseria gonorrhoeae to overcome human nutritional immunity. PLOS Pathogens, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1011091