Abstract
Breaking the Stereotype: Virulence Factor–Mediated Protection of Host Cells in Bacterial Pathogenesis
Highlights
Bacterial pathogens have evolved extraordinary mechanisms to efficiently infect host organisms
Yersinia spp., Shigella flexneri, Helicobacter pylori, and diarrheagenic Escherichia coli are well known for their ability to kill host cells
We recently found that the T3S effector EspZ modulates cytotoxicity towards host cells
Summary
Bacterial pathogens have evolved extraordinary mechanisms to efficiently infect host organisms. Yersinia spp., Shigella flexneri, Helicobacter pylori, and diarrheagenic Escherichia coli are well known for their ability to kill host cells. For Yersinia, death of infected macrophages dampens cytokine release and enables the pathogen to propagate with minimal challenges from the immune system [2]. The etiologic agent of plague, and gastroenteritis-inducing Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica all encode a cytotoxic virulence factor called YopJ/P (YopJ in the two former species and YopP in the latter), which are translocated into infected cells via a type III secretion system (T3SS) [2,3].
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