Bound for the brain

In a fast moving river, your chances of making it safely to the river bank are small. Similarly, a report by Mairey and colleagues, on page 1939, reveals that invading Neisseria meningitidis bacteria must rely on pauses in blood flow in order to attach to the edge of blood vessels.

Colonization of the nose and throat by N. meningitidis bacteria is not uncommon in the general population. If these bacteria gain access to the bloodstream, however, they can cause septicemia and may even cross the blood–brain barrier to cause meningitis.

In brain samples from a meningococcal sepsis victim, Mairey et al. found that N. meningitidis were not distributed evenly throughout the blood vessels but were instead specifically restricted to capillaries. Since blood flow in capillaries of the brain has been reported to be very...