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Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular Interactions | SpotlightHuman Intestinal Enteroids as a Model System of Shigella PathogenesisThe enteric bacterium and intracellular human pathogen Shigella causes hundreds of millions of cases of the diarrheal disease shigellosis per year worldwide. Shigella is acquired by ingestion of contaminated food or water; upon reaching the colon, the bacteria invade colonic epithelial cells, replicate intracellularly, spread to adjacent cells, and provoke an intense inflammatory response.
Fungal and Parasitic Infections | SpotlightA Glucuronoxylomannan Epitope Exhibits Serotype-Specific Accessibility and Redistributes towards the Capsule Surface during Titanization of the Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformansDisseminated infections with the fungal species Cryptococcus neoformans or, less frequently, Cryptococcus gattii are an important cause of mortality in immunocompromised individuals. Central to the virulence of both species is an elaborate polysaccharide capsule that consists predominantly of...
Microbial Immunity and VaccinesModerately Neutralizing Epitopes in Nonfunctional Regions Dominate the Antibody Response to Plasmodium falciparum EBA-140Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte-binding antigen 140 (EBA-140) plays a role in tight junction formation during parasite invasion of red blood cells and is a potential vaccine candidate for malaria. Individuals in areas where malaria is endemic possess EBA-140-specific antibodies, and individuals with high antibody titers to this protein have a lower rate of...
Fungal and Parasitic InfectionsInduction of Inflammatory Responses in Splenocytes by Exosomes Released from Intestinal Epithelial Cells following Cryptosporidium parvum InfectionCryptosporidium, a protozoan parasite that infects the gastrointestinal epithelium and other mucosal surfaces in humans and animals, is an important opportunistic pathogen in AIDS patients and one of the most common enteric pathogens affecting young children in developing regions. This parasite is referred to as a “minimally invasive” mucosal pathogen, and epithelial cells play a central role in activating and orchestrating...
Bacterial InfectionsVirulence Traits of a Serogroup C Meningococcus and Isogenic cssA Mutant, Defective in Surface-Exposed Sialic Acid, in a Murine Model of MeningitisIn serogroup C Neisseria meningitidis, the cssA (siaA) gene codes for an UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase that catalyzes the conversion of UDP-N-acetyl-α-d-glucosamine into N-acetyl-d-mannosamine and UDP in the first step in sialic acid biosynthesis. This enzyme is required...
Fungal and Parasitic Infections | SpotlightTalaromyces marneffei Mp1 Protein, a Novel Virulence Factor, Carries Two Arachidonic Acid-Binding Domains To Suppress Inflammatory Responses in HostsTalaromyces marneffei infection causes talaromycosis (previously known as penicilliosis), a very important opportunistic systematic mycosis in immunocompromised patients. Different virulence mechanisms in T. marneffei have been proposed and investigated.
Bacterial InfectionsPotential Therapeutic Effects of Mepacrine against Clostridium perfringens Enterotoxin in a Mouse Model of Enterotoxemia...Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) is a pore-forming toxin that causes the symptoms of common bacterial food poisoning and several non-foodborne human gastrointestinal diseases, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea and sporadic diarrhea. In some cases, CPE-mediated disease can be very severe or fatal due to the involvement of enterotoxemia.
Fungal and Parasitic InfectionsKinetic and Cross-Sectional Studies on the Genesis of Hypoargininemia in Severe Pediatric Plasmodium falciparum MalariaThe low bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) and its precursor, arginine, contributes to the microvascular pathophysiology of severe falciparum malaria. To better characterize the mechanisms underlying hypoargininemia in severe malaria, we measured the plasma concentrations of amino acids involved in de novo arginine synthesis in children with uncomplicated falciparum malaria (UM; n = 61), children with cerebral...
Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular InteractionsInteraction of Gardnerella vaginalis and Vaginolysin with the Apical versus Basolateral Face of a Three-Dimensional Model of Vaginal EpitheliumStudies have implicated Gardnerella vaginalis as an important etiological agent in bacterial vaginosis (BV). It produces a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin, vaginolysin (VLY).
Cellular Microbiology: Pathogen-Host Cell Molecular InteractionsStaphylococcus aureus Biofilm-Conditioned Medium Impairs Macrophage-Mediated Antibiofilm Immune Response by Upregulating KLF2 ExpressionStaphylococcus aureus infections associated with the formation of biofilms on medical implants or host tissue play a critical role in the persistence of chronic infections. One critical mechanism of biofilm infection that leads to persistent infection lies in the capacity of biofilms to evade the macrophage-mediated innate immune response.