
Breakthrough in veterinary research at the University of Bern
9 June 2020

A team of researchers from three faculties at the University of Bern have discovered how a bacterial infection in pigs can cause fatal intestinal bleeding, thus making a breakthrough in veterinary research. This discovery opens up promising prospects for vaccinations and medications for use in humans too. New-born piglets often die painfully from infection with […]
A team of researchers from three faculties at the University of Bern have discovered how a bacterial infection in pigs can cause fatal intestinal bleeding, thus making a breakthrough in veterinary research. This discovery opens up promising prospects for vaccinations and medications for use in humans too.
New-born piglets often die painfully from infection with an intestinal bacterium. The Clostridium perfringens bacterium is part of the large Clostridium genus which can cause various fatal illnesses in animals and humans. These bacteria are dangerous because they produce extremely strong poisons (toxins) which cause targeted damage to the host’s cells. Diseases such as botulism, tetanus, gas gangrene and intestinal infections, for example, are caused by Clostridium.
10 years ago, a research group from the Institute of Animal Pathology at the University of Bern demonstrated that the toxin produced by the bacteria kills vascular cells and thus causes bleeding in the piglet’s intestine. Until now, however, it was unclear why the toxin attacked specifically these cells and not others. Today, Julia Bruggisser, biochemist and doctoral student at the Institute of Animal Pathology, has succeeded in solving the puzzle of this mechanism in an interdisciplinary collaboration between three faculties.
Potential new forms of therapy for vascular diseases in humans
A collaboration between multiple research groups at the University of Bern was essential for the success of the project. “For my research, I work in three laboratories at the University. Although it’s challenging, I learn a lot and above all, it’s fun,” says Julia Bruggisser.
The discovery makes it possible to develop better vaccines in order to prevent the fatal disease in pigs. “We also want to investigate whether the attachment of beta toxins on the endothelial cells allows for the development of new forms of therapy, for vascular diseases in humans, for example. We have already started more collaborations within the University of Bern to this end,” says Horst Posthaus, Professor at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology of the University of Bern.