Flagellin treatment protects against chemicals, bacteria, viruses and radiation
This title for a 2008 paper in Journal of Immunology, from pathologist Andrew Gewirtz’s laboratory, is astounding. Flagellin can protect against all those things (in mice, of course)? What about bullets or heartbreak? What is flagellin?
Flagellin is a structural feature many bacteria have in common — courtesy of iGEM via Creative Commons
Flagellin is the main structural component of flagella, the miniature whips bacteria use to propel themselves. Several Emory scientists are investigating how flagellin could be used as a protective agent to strengthen the body’s innate defenses and also as a vaccine component.