Bt Protein Combats Intestinal Roundworm Infection
October 2, 2013| |
Scientists from USDA-Agricultural Research Service tested the efficacy of Cry5B, a protein from soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, as an antihelminthic of large roundworm of pigs (Ascaris suum). Bt proteins are vertebrate-safe proteins used extensively and successfully on organic and conventional agriculture, in transgenic food and non-food crops, and in vector-control programs to kill insect pests.
The research showed that pig roundworm had intestinal receptors that bind to Cry5B and that the protein can kill larvae and adults in culture. Furthermore, oral administration of Cry5B led to near complete elimination of the infection. Since A. suum is closely related to human intestinal roundworm (A. lumbricoides), then Cry5B is a potential protein that can be used to treat roundworm infections in humans.
Read more about the research at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3688533/.
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