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Scots aid battle against killer bug

Mike Merritt

November 5 2006, 12:00am, The Sunday Times

An international team led by experts at St Andrews University has identified a protein structure in the outer membrane of bacteria that is used by the pathogens to evade the defences of the human immune system.

Professor James Naismith of the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences at St Andrews said the discovery could pave the way for effective new drugs.

The research team, which included scientists from Guelph University in Canada, has labelled the protein structure Wza. It enables the bacteria to move large, complex, sugar-containing molecules through the cell membrane. Once on the cell surface, these long polymer chains make a protective “shield”.

“This structure, Wza, gives a fascinating insight into this important process,” said Naismith, whose research has been published in the scientific journal…