Hi
What is meant by a ‘bystander pathogen’?
I look forward to your feedback
When you’re asking a question like this, you always want to include the context. If you’re wondering about the meaning of a term, it’s because you’ve encountered the term used somewhere. Where?
Very sorry. I was reading an article on
intestinal permeation enhancers (PEs) and came across the term ‘bystander pathogens’. I could not find a definition for it. It looked like it could be a common medical term but apparently not.
The question arises as to whether PEs can cause irreversible epithelial damage and tight junction openings sufficient to permit co-absorption of payloads with bystander pathogens, lipopolysaccharides and its fragment, or exo- and endotoxins that may be associated with sepsis, inflammation and autoimmune conditions.
From the full text:
It just means “a pathogen that happens to be in the vicinity and gets across the barrier due to the PE”.
Thanks naita. It makes more sense now.