研究人员已经找到了假鼻疽伯克霍尔德菌在引起假鼻疽病（或称“越南定時炸彈”）时使用的一种致命武器。
假鼻疽伯克霍尔德菌通常被人发现于东南亚和澳大利亚的北方，它们在那里生活在不流动的水中或是在稻田内。 它对许多抗菌素有抵抗力；它之所以获得其绰号是因为它已知会在其宿主（他们中许多人是越战退伍军人）体内潜伏几十年后才首次出现其假鼻疽病症状。
新的研究显示，这种细菌会用一种毒性蛋白（这种毒性蛋白看来类似于大肠杆菌所用的一种毒性蛋白）来感染多种多样的组织，引起亚临床感染、败血症及慢性疾病。 Abimael Cruz及其同事对该细菌的蛋白之一进行了研究，这种蛋白叫做BPSL1549。
结果发现，它对真核细胞有毒——当将其给予小鼠时甚至会令小鼠死亡。
研究人员提出，这是因为BPSL1549会干扰一种叫做elF4A的重要蛋白，这种蛋白在正常情况下会启动宿主中的蛋白质翻译过程。 由于它与大肠杆菌细胞毒性坏死因子-1有共同的特征，因此Cruz及其同事提议将BPSL1549命名为伯克霍尔德菌致死因子-1。
他们的发现揭示了假鼻疽伯克霍尔德菌是如何造成其损害的，但Cruz及其同事说，这种细胞毒性武器可能比科学家们曾经认为的要更常见于病原菌中。(生物谷 Bioon.com)
doi:10.1126/science.1211915
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A Burkholderia pseudomallei Toxin Inhibits Helicase Activity of Translation Factor eIF4A
Abimael Cruz-Migoni, Guillaume M. Hautbergue, Peter J. Artymiuk, Patrick J. Baker, Monika Bokori-Brown, Chung-Te Chang, Mark J. Dickman, Angela Essex-Lopresti, Sarah V. Harding, Nor Muhammad Mahadi, Laura E. Marshall, George W. Mobbs, Rahmah Mohamed, Sheila Nathan, Sarah A. Ngugi, Catherine Ong, Wen Fong Ooi, Lynda J. Partridge1, Helen L. Phillips, M. Firdaus Raih, Sergei Ruzheinikov1, Mitali Sarkar-Tyson, Svetlana E. Sedelnikova, Sophie J. Smither, Patrick Tan, Richard W. Titball, Stuart A. Wilson, David W. Rice
Many persistent pain states (pain lasting for hours, days, or longer) are poorly treated because of the limitations of existing therapies. Analgesics such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids often provide incomplete pain relief and prolonged use results in the development of severe side effects. Identification of the key mediators of various types of pain could improve such therapies. Here, we tested the hypothesis that hitherto unrecognized cytokines and chemokines might act as mediators in inflammatory pain. We used ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation to induce persistent, abnormal sensitivity to pain in humans and rats. The expression of more than 90 different inflammatory mediators was measured in treated skin at the peak of UVB-induced hypersensitivity with custom-made
