GETTING one bug is bad, but two is worse. Bacterial infections often open the door to other invaders, but now it seems an enzyme can prevent these secondary infections, in mice at least.
The mammalian immune system goes into a “tolerant” state during an infection, reducing its ability to fight off other invaders. This state persists even after the bacteria have been killed. Although a molecule released by bacteria called lipopolysaccharide (LPS) seems to initiate tolerance, it was not clear how the immune system returns to its normal state.
To see if removing LPS was the answer, …
