Host-pathogen interactions in Vibrio vulnificus: responses of monocytes and vascular endothelial cells to live bacteria.

Abstract

To demonstrate that Vibrio vulnificus, a sepsis-related aquatic pathogen, can provoke a strong pro-inflammatory reaction in blood-associated target cells. We selected two strains of the two main phylogenetic lineages, two human cell lines, monocytes and vascular endothelial cells and designed an in vitro infection model simulating early septicemia. Both strains caused a strong cell-specific pro-inflammatory response and produced a high degree of cell damage that ended with death by lysis (endothelial cells) or apoptosis/lysis (monocytes). The interaction with endothelial cells was stronger than expected and significantly different for both lineages. The early interaction with endothelial cells could have a direct role in sepsis and could explain, at least partially, the differences in pathogenicity between both lineages.