Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular InteractionsThe Extracellular Polysaccharide Matrix of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms Is a Determinant of Polymorphonuclear Leukocyte Responses
Bacterial biofilms may cause chronic infections due to their ability to evade clearance by the immune system and antibiotics. The persistent biofilms induce a hyperinflammatory state that damages the surrounding host tissue. Knowledge about the components of biofilms that are responsible for provoking the harmful but inefficient immune response is limited. Flagella are known to stimulate the response of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (...
- Host Response and InflammationPseudomonas aeruginosa Infection Impairs NKG2D-Dependent NK Cell Cytotoxicity through Regulatory T-Cell Activation
Natural killer (NK) cells play a key role in both antibacterial and antitumor immunity. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection has already been reported to alter NK cell functions. We studied in vitro the effect of P. aeruginosa on NK cell cytotoxic response (CD107a membrane expression) to a...
- Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular InteractionsCigarette Smoke Exposure Promotes Virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Induces Resistance to Neutrophil Killing
It is widely known that cigarette smoke damages host defenses and increases susceptibility to bacterial infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative bacterium that commonly colonizes the airways of smokers and patients with chronic lung disease, can cause pneumonia and sepsis and can trigger exacerbations of lung diseases....
- Host Response and InflammationLow-Avidity Autoantibodies against Bactericidal/Permeability-Increasing Protein Occur in Gram-Negative and Gram-Positive Bacteremia
Antibody autoreactivity against bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) is strongly associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis (CF), non-CF bronchiectasis (BE), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We examined the pathogen-specific nature of this autoreactivity by examining antibodies to BPI in bacteremia patients....
- Bacterial InfectionsScnn1b-Transgenic BALB/c Mice as a Model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections of the Cystic Fibrosis Lung
The 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...
- Host Response and InflammationNHR-49 Transcription Factor Regulates Immunometabolic Response and Survival of Caenorhabditis elegans during Enterococcus faecalis Infection
Immune response to pathogens is energetically expensive to the host; however, the cellular source of energy to fuel immune response remains unknown. In this study, we show that Caenorhabditis elegans exposed to pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria or yeast rapidly utilizes lipid droplets, the major energy reserve. The nematode’s response to the...
- Bacterial InfectionsRole of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Glutathione Biosynthesis in Lung and Soft Tissue Infection
The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. To survive in both the environment and the host, P. aeruginosa must cope with redox stress. In P. aeruginosa, a primary...
- Host Response and InflammationMice Lacking γδ T Cells Exhibit Impaired Clearance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lung Infection and Excessive Production of Inflammatory Cytokines
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes chronic and life-threatening infections in immunocompromised patients. A better understanding of the role that innate immunity plays in the control of P. aeruginosa infection is crucial for therapeutic development. Specifically, the...
- Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular InteractionsDistinct Contributions of CD18 Integrins for Binding and Phagocytic Internalization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Phagocytosis is the key mechanism for host control of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a motile Gram-negative, opportunistic bacterial pathogen which frequently undergoes adaptation and selection for traits that are advantageous for survival. One such clinically relevant adaptation is the loss of bacterial motility, observed within chronic infections, that is associated with...
- Host-Associated Microbial CommunitiesCooperativity between Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa during Polymicrobial Airway Infections
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a Gram-negative bacterium found ubiquitously in the environment that has historically been regarded as nonpathogenic. S. maltophilia is increasingly observed in patient sputa in cystic fibrosis (CF), and while existing epidemiology indicates that patients with...