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Toxins Sep 2021is a clinically important pathogen that causes a wide range of human infections, from minor skin infections to severe tissue infection and sepsis. has a high level of... (Review)
Review
is a clinically important pathogen that causes a wide range of human infections, from minor skin infections to severe tissue infection and sepsis. has a high level of antibiotic resistance and is a common cause of infections in hospitals and the community. The rising prevalence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant (CA-MRSA), combined with the important severity of infections in general, has resulted in the frequent use of anti-staphylococcal antibiotics, leading to increasing resistance rates. Antibiotic-resistant continues to be a major health concern, necessitating the development of novel therapeutic strategies. uses a wide range of virulence factors, such as toxins, to develop an infection in the host. Recently, anti-virulence treatments that directly or indirectly neutralize toxins have showed promise. In this review, we provide an update on toxin pathogenic characteristics, as well as anti-toxin therapeutical strategies.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Staphylococcus aureus; Toxins, Biological; Virulence; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 34678970
DOI: 10.3390/toxins13100677 -
Drug Discovery Today Jan 2019Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a pathogenic bacterial species that causes infections and diseases in both plants and animals, including several human diseases, especially in... (Review)
Review
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a pathogenic bacterial species that causes infections and diseases in both plants and animals, including several human diseases, especially in immune-compromised patients, and many hospital-acquired infections. Given that P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance makes it difficult to treat and eradicate. Antimicrobial resistance in P. aeruginosa is categorized as intrinsic, acquired, or adaptive. Here, we different aspects of resistance and pathogenicity in P. aeruginosa, such as the role of outer membrane proteins, transcriptional regulators, efflux pumps, enzymes, and biofilms in antimicrobial resistance. We also highlight quorum-sensing (QS) genes, their protein secretion, and role in pathogenicity; different QS inhibitors; and the influence of QS on the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas system and virulence factor production.
Topics: Biofilms; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Humans; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Quorum Sensing; Virulence; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 30036575
DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2018.07.003 -
Microbial Pathogenesis May 2022Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated fungal pathogen that causes infection in immunocompromised individuals such as HIV patients, organ transplant patients,... (Review)
Review
Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated fungal pathogen that causes infection in immunocompromised individuals such as HIV patients, organ transplant patients, hematological malignancies, diabetes patients, etc. The most common invasive fungal pathogens are Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., and Cryptococcus spp. Cryptococcal meningitis has become increasingly common in immunocompromised patients resulting in a death rate of up to 90%. In low-income and middle-income countries, C. neoformans is a neglected killer in most parts of the world. It has unique and complicated virulence factors that facilitate its intracellular survival and dissemination. The initial infection, latency, or dissemination of the pathogen is determined by its specific morphological features such as capsule size, melanin pigment, biofilm development, etc. In this review, we discussed the worldwide distribution, classification of Cryptococcus spp., and a major focus on the pathogen's strategies that allow it to survive, proliferate subsequently disseminate resulting in cellular damage and treatment.
Topics: Cryptococcosis; Cryptococcus neoformans; HIV Infections; Humans; Virulence; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 35436563
DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105521 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jul 2020Microbial virulence factors encompass a wide range of molecules produced by pathogenic microorganisms, enhancing their ability to evade their host defenses and cause...
Microbial virulence factors encompass a wide range of molecules produced by pathogenic microorganisms, enhancing their ability to evade their host defenses and cause disease [...].
Topics: Bacteria; Humans; Virulence; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 32727013
DOI: 10.3390/ijms21155320 -
Science (New York, N.Y.) Jun 2018Some pathogens and pests deliver small RNAs (sRNAs) into host cells to suppress host immunity. Conversely, hosts also transfer sRNAs into pathogens and pests to inhibit...
Some pathogens and pests deliver small RNAs (sRNAs) into host cells to suppress host immunity. Conversely, hosts also transfer sRNAs into pathogens and pests to inhibit their virulence. Although sRNA trafficking has been observed in a wide variety of interactions, how sRNAs are transferred, especially from hosts to pathogens and pests, is still unknown. Here, we show that host cells secrete exosome-like extracellular vesicles to deliver sRNAs into fungal pathogen These sRNA-containing vesicles accumulate at the infection sites and are taken up by the fungal cells. Transferred host sRNAs induce silencing of fungal genes critical for pathogenicity. Thus, has adapted exosome-mediated cross-kingdom RNA interference as part of its immune responses during the evolutionary arms race with the pathogen.
Topics: Arabidopsis; Botrytis; Extracellular Vesicles; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Plant Diseases; Plant Immunity; RNA Interference; RNA, Plant; RNA, Small Interfering; Virulence; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 29773668
DOI: 10.1126/science.aar4142 -
Cellular Microbiology May 2021Cell adhesion molecules mediate cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix adhesions and play an immense role in a myriad of physiological processes during the growth and... (Review)
Review
Cell adhesion molecules mediate cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix adhesions and play an immense role in a myriad of physiological processes during the growth and development of a multicellular organism. Cadherins belong to a major group of membrane-bound cell surface proteins that, in coordination with nectins, drive the formation and maintenance of adherens junctions for mediating cell to cell adhesion, cellular communication and signalling. Alongside adhesive function, the involvement of cadherins in mediating host-pathogen interactions has been extensively explored in recent years. In this review, we provide an in-depth understanding of microbial pathogens and their virulence factors that exploit cadherins for their strategical invasion into the host cell. Furthermore, macromolecular interactions involving cadherins and various microbial factors such as secretory toxins and adhesins lead to the disintegration of host cell junctions followed by the entry of the pathogen or triggering downstream signalling pathways responsible for successful invasion of the pathogenic microbes are discussed. Besides providing a comprehensive insight into some of the structural complexes involving cadherins and microbial factors to offer the mechanistic details of host-pathogen interactions, the current review also highlights novel constituents of various cell signalling events such as endocytosis machinery elicited upon microbial infections.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Bacterial Infections; Cadherins; Endocytosis; Fungi; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Mycoses; Signal Transduction; Virulence; Virulence Factors; Virus Diseases; Viruses
PubMed: 33543826
DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13316 -
Annual Review of Microbiology Sep 2022is a globally distributed, lethal pathogen of humans. The virulence armamentarium of appears to have been developed on a scaffold of antiphagocytic defenses found... (Review)
Review
is a globally distributed, lethal pathogen of humans. The virulence armamentarium of appears to have been developed on a scaffold of antiphagocytic defenses found among diverse, mostly free-living species of . Pathoadaptation was further aided by the modularity, flexibility, and interactivity characterizing mycobacterial effectors and their regulators. During emergence of , novel genetic material was acquired, created, and integrated with existing tools. The major mutational mechanisms underlying these adaptations are discussed in this review, with examples. During its evolution, lost the ability and/or opportunity to engage in lateral gene transfer, but despite this it has retained the adaptability that characterizes mycobacteria. exemplifies the evolutionary genomic mechanisms underlying adoption of the pathogenic niche, and studies of its evolution have uncovered a rich array of discoveries about how new pathogens are made.
Topics: Evolution, Molecular; Gene Transfer, Horizontal; Humans; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Tuberculosis; Virulence; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 35709500
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-micro-121321-093031 -
Nature Reviews. Microbiology Aug 2020Xanthomonas spp. encompass a wide range of plant pathogens that use numerous virulence factors for pathogenicity and fitness in plant hosts. In this Review, we examine... (Review)
Review
Xanthomonas spp. encompass a wide range of plant pathogens that use numerous virulence factors for pathogenicity and fitness in plant hosts. In this Review, we examine recent insights into host-pathogen co-evolution, diversity in Xanthomonas populations and host specificity of Xanthomonas spp. that have substantially improved our fundamental understanding of pathogen biology. We emphasize the virulence factors in xanthomonads, such as type III secreted effectors including transcription activator-like effectors, type II secretion systems, diversity resulting in host specificity, evolution of emerging strains, activation of susceptibility genes and strategies of host evasion. We summarize the genomic diversity in several Xanthomonas spp. and implications for disease outbreaks, management strategies and breeding for disease resistance.
Topics: Host-Pathogen Interactions; Plant Diseases; Plants; Virulence; Virulence Factors; Xanthomonas
PubMed: 32346148
DOI: 10.1038/s41579-020-0361-8 -
FEMS Microbiology Reviews Jan 2018Metals are essential for life, and they play a central role in the struggle between infecting microbes and their hosts. In fact, an important aspect of microbial... (Review)
Review
Metals are essential for life, and they play a central role in the struggle between infecting microbes and their hosts. In fact, an important aspect of microbial pathogenesis is the 'nutritional immunity', in which metals are actively restricted (or, in an extended definition of the term, locally enriched) by the host to hinder microbial growth and virulence. Consequently, fungi have evolved often complex regulatory networks, uptake and detoxification systems for essential metals such as iron, zinc, copper, nickel and manganese. These systems often differ fundamentally from their bacterial counterparts, but even within the fungal pathogens we can find common and unique solutions to maintain metal homeostasis. Thus, we here compare the common and species-specific mechanisms used for different metals among different fungal species-focusing on important human pathogens such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus or Cryptococcus neoformans, but also looking at model fungi such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae or A. nidulans as well-studied examples for the underlying principles. These direct comparisons of our current knowledge reveal that we have a good understanding how model fungal pathogens take up iron or zinc, but that much is still to learn about other metals and specific adaptations of individual species-not the least to exploit this knowledge for new antifungal strategies.
Topics: Fungi; Homeostasis; Metals; Virulence
PubMed: 29069482
DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fux050 -
Nature Microbiology May 2022Fungal pathogens cause more than a billion human infections every year, resulting in more than 1.6 million deaths annually. Understanding the natural history and... (Review)
Review
Fungal pathogens cause more than a billion human infections every year, resulting in more than 1.6 million deaths annually. Understanding the natural history and evolutionary ecology of fungi is helping us understand how disease-relevant traits have repeatedly evolved. Different types and mechanisms of genetic variation have contributed to the evolution of fungal pathogenicity and specific genetic differences distinguish pathogens from non-pathogens. Insights into the traits, genetic elements, and genetic and ecological mechanisms that contribute to the evolution of fungal pathogenicity are crucial for developing strategies to both predict emergence of fungal pathogens and develop drugs to combat them.
Topics: Fungi; Humans; Life Style; Virulence
PubMed: 35508719
DOI: 10.1038/s41564-022-01112-0