pathogenesis
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Vibrio cholerae Quorum-Sensing Protein VqmA Integrates Cell Density, Environmental, and Host-Derived Cues into the Control of VirulenceQuorum sensing (QS) is a process of chemical communication that bacteria use to orchestrate collective behaviors. QS communication relies on chemical signal molecules called autoinducers. QS regulates virulence in Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the disease cholera. Transit into the human small intestine, the site of cholera infection, exposes...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyStaphylococcus aureus Lipase 1 Enhances Influenza A Virus ReplicationInfluenza A virus (IAV) causes annual epidemics and sporadic pandemics of respiratory disease. Secondary bacterial coinfection by organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus is the most common complication of primary IAV infection and is associated with high levels of morbidity and mortality. Here, we report the first identified...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyToxoplasma gondii Co-opts the Unfolded Protein Response To Enhance Migration and Dissemination of Infected Host CellsCells that are infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii exhibit heightened migratory activity, which facilitates dissemination of the infection throughout the body. In this report, we identify a new mechanism used by Toxoplasma to hijack its host cell and increase its mobility. We further show that the ability of Toxoplasma to increase host cell...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceNovel Immunoglobulin Domain Proteins Provide Insights into Evolution and Pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2-Related VirusesThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic strongly emphasizes the need for a more complete understanding of the biology and pathogenesis of its causative agent SARS-CoV-2. Despite intense scrutiny, several proteins encoded by the genomes of SARS-CoV-2 and other SARS-like coronaviruses remain enigmatic. Moreover, the high infectivity and severity of SARS-CoV-2 in certain individuals make wet-lab studies currently challenging. In this study, we used...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMetabolism of Gluconeogenic Substrates by an Intracellular Fungal Pathogen Circumvents Nutritional Limitations within MacrophagesHistoplasma is a primary human fungal pathogen that survives and proliferates within host immune cells, particularly within the macrophage phagosome compartment. The phagosome compartment is a nutrient-limited environment, requiring Histoplasma yeasts to be able to assimilate available carbon sources within the phagosome to meet their nutritional needs. In this study, we showed that Histoplasma yeasts do not...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyEpistatic Interplay between Type IV Secretion Effectors Engages the Small GTPase Rab2 in the Brucella Intracellular CycleBacterial pathogens with an intracellular lifestyle modulate many host cellular processes to promote their infectious cycle. They do so by delivering effector proteins into host cells via dedicated secretion systems that target specific host functions. While the roles of many individual effectors are known, how their modes of action are coordinated is rarely understood. Here, we show that the zoonotic bacterium...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyPeptidoglycan Hydrolases RipA and Ami1 Are Critical for Replication and Persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the HostTuberculosis (TB) is a major global heath burden, with 1.6 million people succumbing to the disease every year. The search for new drugs to improve the current chemotherapeutic regimen is crucial to reducing this global health burden. The cell wall polymer peptidoglycan (PG) has emerged as a very successful drug target in bacterial pathogens, as many currently used antibiotics target the synthesis of this macromolecule. However, the...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAn Oral Inoculation Infant Rabbit Model for Shigella InfectionShigella species are the leading bacterial cause of diarrheal death globally. The pathogen causes bacillary dysentery, a bloody diarrheal disease characterized by damage to the colonic mucosa and is usually spread through the fecal-oral route. Small animal models of shigellosis that rely on the oral route of infection are lacking. Here, we found that orogastric inoculation of infant rabbits with...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyA Multiorgan Trafficking Circuit Provides Purifying Selection of Listeria monocytogenes Virulence GenesListeria monocytogenes maintains capabilities for free-living growth in the environment and for intracellular replication in a wide range of hosts, including livestock and humans. Here, we characterized an enterocolitis model of foodborne L. monocytogenes infection. This work highlights a multiorgan...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyUbiquitination of Listeria Virulence Factor InlC Contributes to the Host Response to InfectionThe pathogenic potential of Listeria monocytogenes relies on the production of an arsenal of virulence determinants that have been extensively characterized, including surface and secreted proteins of the internalin family. We have previously shown that the Listeria secreted internalin InlC interacts with IκB kinase α to interfere with the host immune...