Question

A group of researchers have isolated a new bacte- W, from the lymph nodes of several patients rho returned from a camping trip and presented in the emergency room with high fever, rash, and swol- h nodes. The bacterium produces a unique OmpW) and an unusual poly- saccharide capsule (called WPS) that the researchers can see on the surfaces of the bacteria in electron mi- crographs from fresh isolates (bacteria just obtained from the patients). However, after culturing the bac- teria in vitro on agar plates, they find that most of the bacteria still have OmpW but no longer have WPS on their surfaces. The researchers also find that bacterium W binds to and invades phagocytic cells and inhibits len lymph surface protein (called their function. A. The researchers propose that OmpW and WPS might make excellent targets for development of a vaccine against bacterium W. What led the re- searchers to propose this?

Answer 1

Researchers suggest targeting OmpW and WPS for vaccine development against bacterium W because these structures contribute to the pathogen's invasive abilities and immune evasion, making them key virulence factors.

Step-by-step explanation:

The researchers propose that OmpW and WPS might make excellent targets for the development of a vaccine against bacterium W because these structures are associated with the ability of the pathogen to invade and evade the immune system. The unique outer membrane protein (OmpW) may play a role in the bacterium's ability to bind to and invade phagocytic cells, and the unusual polysaccharide capsule (WPS) seen in electron micrographs from fresh isolates suggest it helps in avoiding immune detection. Similarly to how certain strains of Streptococcus use their capsules and proteins to evade the immune system, or how Mycobacterium tuberculosis uses mycolic acid for protection within phagolysosomes, bacterium W uses OmpW and WPS as virulence factors making them ideal targets for vaccine development.