Yersinia pestis
Molecular PathogenesisModeling Pneumonic Plague in Human Precision-Cut Lung Slices Highlights a Role for the Plasminogen Activator Protease in Facilitating Type 3 SecretionPneumonic plague is the deadliest form of disease caused by Yersinia pestis. Key to the progression of infection is the activity of the plasminogen activator protease Pla. Deletion of Pla results in a decreased Y. pestis bacterial burden in the lung and failure to progress into the lethal...
Host Response and InflammationYersinia pestis Pla Protein Thwarts T Cell Defense against PlaguePlague is a rapidly lethal human disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. This study demonstrated that the Y. pestis plasminogen activator Pla, a protease that promotes fibrin degradation, thwarts T cell-mediated defense against fully virulent...
Host Response and InflammationYersinia pestis Exploits Early Activation of MyD88 for Growth in the Lungs during Pneumonic PlagueYersinia pestis causes bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic plague. Although no longer responsible for pandemic outbreaks, pneumonic plague continues to be a challenge for medical treatment and has been classified as a reemerging disease in some parts of the world.
- Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular InteractionsGain-of-Function Analysis Reveals Important Virulence Roles for the Yersinia pestis Type III Secretion System Effectors YopJ, YopT, and YpkA
Virulence of Yersinia pestis in mammals requires the type III secretion system, which delivers seven effector proteins into the cytoplasm of host cells to undermine immune responses. All seven of these effectors are conserved across Y. pestis strains, but three, YopJ, YopT, and YpkA, are apparently...
- Host Response and InflammationInduction of Type I Interferon through a Noncanonical Toll-Like Receptor 7 Pathway during Yersinia pestis Infection
- Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular InteractionsYersinia pestis YopK Inhibits Bacterial Adhesion to Host Cells by Binding to the Extracellular Matrix Adaptor Protein Matrilin-2