Study looks at how cells communicate

The University of California-San Diego scientists say their study that shows how bacteria talk to one another might lead to new therapeutic discoveries for diseases such as cancer, diabetes and allergies.

Assistant Professor Pieter Dorrestein and post-doctoral students Yu-Liang Yang and Yuquan Xu, along with Paul Straight from Texas A&M University, said they used imaging mass spectrometry to observe the effects of multiple microbial signals in an interspecies interaction, revealing chemical "conversations" between bacteria involve many signals that function simultaneously.

"Scientists tend to study the metabolic exchange of bacteria, for example penicillin, one molecule at a time," said Dorrestein. "Actually, such exchanges by microbes are much more complex, involving 10, 20 or even 50 molecules at one time. Now scientists can capture that complexity."

The researchers said they anticipate their findings will lead to development of a bacterial dictionary that translates the output signals.

"Our ability to translate the metabolic output of microbes is becoming more important, as they outnumber other cells in our body by a 10 to one margin," Dorrestein said. "This is a powerful tool that may ultimately aid in understanding these interactions."

The study appears in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.