How bacteria invade the brain to cause meningitis (VIDEO)

Harvard Medical School

Caption

Scientists have identified the maneuvers bacteria use to invade the brain and cause meningitis. Shown here are pain receptors (in red) in the brain’s protective layers, known as meninges. When activated by bacteria, pain receptors release a chemical that disables the normal protective functions of immune cells known as macrophages (in blue), weakening the brain’s defenses.

Credit

Chiu Lab/Harvard Medical School

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