Table of Contents
Spotlight
Minireviews
MinireviewNeural Immune Communication in the Control of Host-Bacterial Pathogen Interactions in the Gastrointestinal TractThe orchestration of host immune responses to enteric bacterial pathogens is a complex process involving the integration of numerous signals, including from the nervous system. Despite the recent progress in understanding the contribution of neuroimmune interactions in the regulation of inflammation, the mechanisms and effects of this communication during enteric bacterial infection are only beginning to be characterized. As part of...
Minireview | SpotlightCan the Cecal Ligation and Puncture Model Be Repurposed To Better Inform Therapy in Human Sepsis?A recent report by the National Institutes of Health on sepsis research has implied there is a trend to move away from mouse models of sepsis. The most commonly used animal model to study the pathogenesis of human sepsis is cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in mice. The model has been the mainstay of sepsis research for decades and continues to be considered the gold standard to inform novel pathways of sepsis physiology and its...
Molecular Pathogenesis
Molecular PathogenesisThe Ethanolamine-Sensing Transcription Factor EutR Promotes Virulence and Transmission during Citrobacter rodentium Intestinal InfectionEnteric pathogens exploit chemical and nutrient signaling to gauge their location within a host and control expression of traits important for infection. Ethanolamine-containing molecules are essential in host physiology and play important roles in intestinal processes. The transcription factor EutR is conserved in the Enterobacteriaceae and is required for ethanolamine sensing and metabolism. In enterohemorrhagic...
Molecular PathogenesisA Small Membrane Stabilizing Protein Critical to the Pathogenicity of Staphylococcus aureusStaphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen, and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains is making all types of S. aureus infections more challenging to treat. With a pressing need to develop alternative control strategies to use alongside or in place of conventional antibiotics, one...
Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular Interactions
Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular InteractionsDifferential Interactions of Serum and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Complement Proteins with Conidia of Airborne Fungal Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatusEven though both cellular and humoral immunities contribute to host defense, the role played by humoral immunity against the airborne opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus has been underexplored. In this study, we aimed at deciphering the role of the complement system, the major humoral immune component, against...
Bacterial Infections
Bacterial InfectionsAggregative Adherence Fimbriae II of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Are Required for Adherence and Barrier Disruption during Infection of Human ColonoidsSymptomatic and asymptomatic infection with the diarrheal pathogen enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is associated with growth faltering in children in developing settings. The mechanism of this association is unknown, emphasizing a need for better understanding of the interactions between EAEC and the human gastrointestinal mucosa. In this study, we...
Bacterial InfectionsScnn1b-Transgenic BALB/c Mice as a Model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections of the Cystic Fibrosis LungThe opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is responsible for much of the morbidity and mortality associated with cystic fibrosis (CF), a condition that predisposes patients to chronic lung infections. P. aeruginosa lung infections are difficult to treat because...
Bacterial InfectionsNontypeable Haemophilus influenzae Type IV Pilus Mediates Augmented Adherence to Rhinovirus-Infected Human Airway Epithelial CellsHuman rhinovirus (hRV) is frequently detected in the upper respiratory tract, and symptomatic infection is associated with an increased nasopharyngeal bacterial load, with subsequent development of secondary bacterial diseases. Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is a commensal bacterial species of the human nasopharynx; however, in the context of prior or...
Bacterial InfectionsDistinct Morphological Fates of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Intracellular Bacterial Communities: Dependency on Urine Composition and pHUropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the leading cause of urinary tract infections. These bacteria undertake a multistage infection cycle involving invasion of and proliferation within urinary tract epithelial cells, leading to the rupture of the host cell and dispersal of the bacteria, some of which have a highly filamentous morphology. Here, we established a...
Host Response and Inflammation
Host Response and InflammationThe Ubiquitin-Modifying Enzyme A20 Terminates C-Type Lectin Receptor Signals and Is a Suppressor of Host Defense against Systemic Fungal InfectionC-type lectin receptors (CLRs) play key roles in antifungal defense. CLR-induced NF-κB is central to CLR functions in immunity, and thus, molecules that control the amplitude of CLR-induced NF-κB could profoundly influence host defense against fungal pathogens. However, little is known about the mechanisms that negatively regulate CLR-induced NF-κB, and molecules which act on the CLR family broadly and which directly regulate acute CLR-...
Host Response and InflammationA 20-Mer Peptide Derived from the Lectin Domain of SP-A2 Decreases Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Production during Mycoplasma pneumoniae InfectionHuman surfactant protein-A2 (hSP-A2) is a component of pulmonary surfactant that plays an important role in the lung’s immune system by interacting with viruses, bacteria, and fungi to facilitate pathogen clearance and by downregulating inflammatory responses after an allergic challenge. Genetic variation in SP-A2 at position Gln223Lys is present in up to ∼30% of the population and has been associated with several lung diseases, such as...
Host Response and InflammationHuman Fallopian Tube Epithelial Cell Culture Model To Study Host Responses to Chlamydia trachomatis InfectionChlamydia trachomatis infection of the human fallopian tubes can lead to damaging inflammation and scarring, ultimately resulting in infertility. To study the human cellular responses to chlamydial infection, researchers have frequently used transformed cell lines that can have limited translational relevance. We developed a primary human fallopian tube epithelial...
Host Response and InflammationActivation of the NLRP3 Inflammasome by Particles from the Echinococcus granulosus Laminated LayerThe interaction of dendritic cells and macrophages with a variety of rigid noncellular particles triggers activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and consequent secretion of interleukin 1β (IL-1β). Noncellular particles can also be generated in the context of helminth infection, since these large pathogens often shed their outermost structures during growth and/or molting. One such structure is the massive, mucin-based, soft, flexible...
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