image: Prasadarao V. Nemani, Ph.D., is a scientist at the Saban Research Institute at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. view more
Credit: Photo by Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (June 21, 2010) – A white blood cell that normally removes bacteria from the bloodstream helps Escherichia coli (E. coli) accumulate in the blood and enter the brain resulting in the deadly infection known as meningitis. Prasadarao V. Nemani, PhD, a scientist at The Saban Research Institute at Children Hospital Los Angeles plans to find out how this happens with a grant of $1.65 million from the National Institutes of Health – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes.
Meningitis is the inflammation of the covering of the brain and spinal cord. Bacterial meningitis can be serious, leaving about one third of those who survive with permanent neurological problems. Escherichia coli K1 meningitis is the most common infection of the central nervous system in newborns.
The disease occurs when bacteria replicate and eventually break through the protective "blood-brain barrier." A single layer of endothelial cells, the blood-brain barrier normally prevents bacteria from entering the brain. The molecular mechanisms allowing this build-up of E. coli and its eventual invasion of the brain are not well understood. Dr. Nemani's research implicates a type of white blood cell called a "macrophage." Macrophages normally remove invading organisms from the blood.
"It is as if the macrophage turns traitor," said Dr. Nemani, who also serves as an associate professor of infectious disease at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. "Instead of protecting the body, it helps the bacteria survive in the blood and enter the brain. What causes the macrophage to change? When we figure that out, we have the basis for preventing the buildup of bacteria and preventing meningitis."
The Saban Research Institute at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is among the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States, with 100 investigators at work on 186 laboratory studies, clinical trials and community-based research and health services. The Saban Research Institute is ranked eighth in National Institutes of Health funding among children's hospitals in the United States.
Founded in 1901, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is one of the nation's leading children's hospitals and is acknowledged worldwide for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is one of only seven children's hospitals in the nation – and the only children's hospital on the West Coast – ranked for two consecutive years in all 10 pediatric specialties in the U.S. News & World Report rankings and named to the magazine's "Honor Roll" of children's hospitals.
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is a premier teaching hospital and has been affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932.