NPG library
Below is a selection of News and Views, Research Highlights, Reviews, Research Articles, Perspectives and Commentaries published by Nature Publishing Group journals on the topic of microbial host cell subversion
Reviews
The Legionella pneumophila replication vacuole: making a cosy niche inside host cells
Ralph R. Isberg, Tamara J. O'Connor & Matthew Heidtman
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1967
Nature Reviews Microbiology 7, 13-24 (2009)
In this Review, the authors evaluate the strategies that the intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila uses to establish growth inside cells and probe why this microorganism has accumulated an unprecedented number of translocated substrates that are targeted to host cells.
Cross-regulation between herpesviruses and the TNF superfamily members
John R. 
edý,
Patricia G. Spear & Carl F. Ware
doi:10.1038/nri2434
Nature Reviews Immunology 8, 861-873 (2008)
Herpesviruses have evolved numerous strategies to outsmart the host and establish persistent infection. Important targets of viral entry and immunomodulation are the tumour-necrosis factor superfamily proteins. This Review describes the central role of these proteins in both virus survival and host defence.
Phagosome maturation: going through the acid test
Jason M. Kinchen & Kodi S. Ravichandran
doi:10.1038/nrm2515
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 9, 781-795 (2008)
Phagosome maturation is the process by which a particle-containing phagosome 'matures' through a series of increasingly acidic membrane-bound structures, becoming an acidic phagolysosome before fusing with lysosomes. The identification of a pathway for apoptotic cell-containing phagosomes reveals parallels and differences with receptor-mediated endocytosis.
Revisiting the host as a growth medium
Stacie A. Brown, Kelli L. Palmer & Marvin Whiteley
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1955
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 657-666 (2008)
What makes the human body a good growth medium for bacterial pathogens? In this Review, Brown, Palmer and Whiteley outline how the host growth environment affects disease and discuss the potential for targeting host metabolic pathways for therapeutic development.
Architectures and biogenesis of non-flagellar protein appendages in Gram-negative bacteria
Remi Fronzes, Han Remaut & Gabriel Waksman
doi:10.1038/emboj.2008.155
The EMBO Journal 27, 2271-2280 (2008)
Setting the stage: host invasion by HIV
Florian Hladik & M. Juliana McElrath
doi:10.1038/nri2302
Nature Reviews Immunology 8, 447-457 (2008)
Infection by HIV requires the virus to breach the mucosal barrier to gain access to the immune cells that it infects. But what are the immediate events that follow HIV exposure at genital mucosal sites and what are the key cells that facilitate HIV invasion?
Modification of intracellular membrane structures for virus replication
Sven Miller & Jacomine Krijnse-Locker
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1890
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 363-374 (2008)
Many viruses induce the formation of altered membrane structures upon replication in host cells. This Review examines how viruses modify intracellular membranes, highlights similarities between the structures that are induced by viruses from different families and discusses how these structures could be formed.
The TORrid affairs of viruses: effects of mammalian DNA viruses on the PI3K–Akt–mTOR signalling pathway
Nicholas J. Buchkovich, Yongjun Yu, Carisa A. Zampieri & James C. Alwine
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1855
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 266-275 (2008)
The successful replication of mammalian DNA viruses requires that they gain control of key cellular signalling pathways, including the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase–Akt–mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K–Akt–mTOR) pathway. This Review discusses the range of mechanisms that mammalian DNA viruses use to activate this pathway, as well as the multiple mechanisms these viruses have evolved to circumvent inhibitory stress signalling.
Evolutionary struggles between NK cells and viruses
Lewis L. Lanier
doi:10.1038/nri2276
Nature Reviews Immunology 8, 259-268 (2008)
Natural killer (NK) cells are known to provide a first line of defence against viruses. Here, Lewis Lanier highlights the receptors and effector mechanisms used by NK cells in the protection against viruses and discusses how, reciprocally, viruses have evolved strategies to avoid activation of these cells.
Learning how to live together: genomic insights into prokaryote–animal symbioses
Andrés Moya, Juli Peretó, Rosario Gil & Amparo Latorre
doi:10.1038/nrg2319
Nature Reviews Genetics 9, 218-229 (2008)
Symbiosis is an important source of evolutionary innovation. Genome sequencing and metagenomics have accelerated our understanding of the broad phylogenetic reach of this phenomenon, its complex and diverse nature, and the evolutionary paths followed by eukaryotic hosts and their prokaryotic symbionts.
Exit strategies of intracellular pathogens
Kevin Hybiske & Richard S. Stephens
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1821
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 99-110 (2008)
The exit of intracellular bacteria from host cells is a crucial stage in microbial pathogenesis that is driven by an evolutionary requirement for efficient dissemination to neighbouring cells and transmission to new hosts. In this comprehensive Review, the authors discuss the diverse repertoire of strategies that is used by intracellular pathogens to escape their host cells.
Inter-kingdom signalling: communication between bacteria and their hosts
David T. Hughes & Vanessa Sperandio
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1836
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 111-120 (2008)
Mutually beneficial relationships between prokaryotes and eukaryotes are possible because of the ability of microorganisms and their hosts to communicate with each other. In this Review, David Hughes and Vanessa Sperandio discuss how inter-kingdom communication can be 'hijacked' by bacterial pathogens, and how hosts can fight back.
Kiss and spit: the dual roles of Toxoplasma rhoptries
John C. Boothroyd & Jean-Francois Dubremetz
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1800
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 79-88 (2008)
John C. Boothroyd and Jean-Francois Dubremetz review the roles of the apical rhoptry organelles in cell invasion by Apicomplexan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium spp. They propose a model in which an expansion of host range might have been the selective pressure for rhoptry-protein evolution.
Pathogen subversion of cell-intrinsic innate immunity
Craig R Roy & Edward S Mocarski
doi:10.1038/ni1528
Nature Immunology 8, 1179-1187 (2007)
Lysosomes: fusion and function
J. Paul Luzio, Paul R. Pryor & Nicholas A. Bright
doi:10.1038/nrm2217
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 8, 622-632 (2007)
Far from being a static organelle at the end of the endocytic pathway, the lysosome is capable of dynamically fusing with many organelles as well as the plasma membrane. The lysosome provides hydrolytic enzymes for the degradation of macromolecules, has secretory functions and is important for plasma membrane repair.
Progress
New roles for large and small viral RNAs in evading host defences
Christopher S. Sullivan
doi:10.1038/nrg2349
Nature Reviews Genetics 9, 503-507 (2008)
Some DNA viruses express abundant non-coding RNAs, but their function has been mostly unknown. Several recent reports show how viruses can use non-coding RNAs to tackle host defences and control their gene expression levels.
Membrane nanotubes: dynamic long-distance connections between animal cells
Daniel M. Davis & Stefanie Sowinski
doi:10.1038/nrm2399
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 9, 431-436 (2008)
Membrane nanotubes are thin extensions of the plasma membrane that connect cells transiently and might facilitate intercellular communication. Recent studies have revealed considerable heterogeneity in their structure, formation, mode of cargo transport and functional properties, depending on the cell types involved.
Research articles
A multifunctional serine protease primes the malaria parasite for red blood cell invasion
Konstantinos Koussis, Chrislaine Withers-Martinez, Sharon Yeoh, Matthew Child, Fiona Hackett, Ellen Knuepfer, Luiz Juliano, Ute Woehlbier, Hermann Bujard & Michael J Blackman
doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.22
The EMBO Journal 28, 725-735 (2009)
Chlamydia causes fragmentation of the Golgi compartment to ensure reproduction
Dagmar Heuer, Anette Rejman Lipinski, Nikolaus Machuy, Alexander Karlas, Andrea Wehrens, Frank Siedler, Volker Brinkmann & Thomas F. Meyer
doi:10.1038/nature07578
Nature 457, 731-735 (2009)
Antigenic variation in Giardia lamblia is regulated by RNA interference
César G. Prucca, Ileana Slavin, Rodrigo Quiroga, Eliana V. Elías, Fernando D. Rivero, Alicia Saura, Pedro G. Carranza & Hugo D. Luján
doi:10.1038/nature07585
Nature 456, 750-754 (2008)
microRNA-122 stimulates translation of hepatitis C virus RNA
Jura Inga Henke, Dagmar Goergen, Junfeng Zheng, Yutong Song, Christian G Schüttler, Carmen Fehr, Christiane Jünemann & Michael Niepmann
doi:10.1038/emboj.2008.244
The EMBO Journal 27, 3300-3310 (2008)
Toll-like receptor–induced arginase 1 in macrophages thwarts effective immunity against intracellular pathogens
Karim C El Kasmi, Joseph E Qualls, John T Pesce, Amber M Smith, Robert W Thompson, Marcela Henao-Tamayo, Randall J Basaraba, Till König, Ulrike Schleicher, Mi-Sun Koo, Gilla Kaplan, Katherine A Fitzgerald, Elaine I Tuomanen, Ian M Orme, Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti, Christian Bogdan, Thomas A Wynn & Peter J Murray
doi:10.1038/ni.1671
Nature Immunology 9, 1399-1406 (2008)
A protein that replaces the entire cellular eIF4F complex
Mohammad A Mir & Antonito T Panganiban
doi:10.1038/emboj.2008.228
The EMBO Journal 27, 3129-3139 (2008)
CEACAM1 inhibits Toll-like receptor 2–triggered antibacterial responses of human pulmonary epithelial cells
Hortense Slevogt, Solveig Zabel, Bastian Opitz, Andreas Hocke, Julia Eitel, Philippe D N'Guessan, Lothar Lucka, Kristian Riesbeck, Wolfgang Zimmermann, Janine Zweigner, Bettina Temmesfeld-Wollbrueck, Norbert Suttorp & Bernhard B Singer
doi:10.1038/ni.1661
Nature Immunology 9, 1270-1278 (2008)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis blocks crosslinking of annexin-1 and apoptotic envelope formation on infected macrophages to maintain virulence
Huixian Gan, Jinhee Lee, Fucheng Ren, Minjian Chen, Hardy Kornfeld & Heinz G Remold
doi:10.1038/ni.1654
Nature Immunology 9, 1189-1197 (2008)
Epigenetic transcriptional repression of cellular genes by a viral SET protein
Shiraz Mujtaba, Karishma L. Manzur, James R. Gurnon, Ming Kang, James L. Van Etten & Ming-Ming Zhou
doi:10.1038/ncb1772
Nature Cell Biology 10, 1114-1122 (2008)
Platelet-derived growth factor-
receptor activation is required for human cytomegalovirus infection
Liliana Soroceanu, Armin Akhavan & Charles S. Cobbs
doi:10.1038/nature07209
Nature 455, 391-395 (2008)
Secreted transcription factor controls Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence
Sridharan Raghavan, Paolo Manzanillo, Kaman Chan, Cole Dovey & Jeffery S. Cox
doi:10.1038/nature07219
Nature 454, 717-721 (2008)
Listeriolysin O allows Listeria monocytogenes replication in macrophage vacuoles
Cheryl L. Birmingham, Veronica Canadien, Natalia A. Kaniuk, Benjamin E. Steinberg, Darren E. Higgins & John H. Brumell
doi:10.1038/nature06479
Nature 451, 350-354 (2008)
Membrane nanotubes physically connect T cells over long distances presenting a novel route for HIV-1 transmission
Stefanie Sowinski, Clare Jolly, Otto Berninghausen, Marco A. Purbhoo, Anne Chauveau, Karsten Köhler, Stephane Oddos, Philipp Eissmann, Frances M. Brodsky, Colin Hopkins, Björn Önfelt, Quentin Sattentau & Daniel M. Davis
doi:10.1038/ncb1682
Nature Cell Biology 10, 211-219 (2008)
A viral microRNA functions as an orthologue of cellular miR-155
Eva Gottwein, Neelanjan Mukherjee, Christoph Sachse, Corina Frenzel, William H. Majoros, Jen-Tsan A. Chi, Ravi Braich, Muthiah Manoharan, Jürgen Soutschek, Uwe Ohler & Bryan R. Cullen
doi:10.1038/nature05992
Nature 450, 1096-1099 (2007)
Intracellular bacterial growth is controlled by a kinase network around PKB/AKT1
Coenraad Kuijl, Nigel D. L. Savage, Marije Marsman, Adriaan W. Tuin, Lennert Janssen, David A. Egan, Mirjam Ketema, Rian van den Nieuwendijk, Susan J. F. van den Eeden, Annemieke Geluk, Alex Poot, Gijs van der Marel, Roderick L. Beijersbergen, Hermen Overkleeft, Tom H. M. Ottenhoff & Jacques Neefjes
doi:10.1038/nature06345
Nature 450, 725-730 (2007)
The lipid droplet is an important organelle for hepatitis C virus production
Yusuke Miyanari, Kimie Atsuzawa, Nobuteru Usuda, Koichi Watashi, Takayuki Hishiki, Margarita Zayas, Ralf Bartenschlager, Takaji Wakita, Makoto Hijikata & Kunitada Shimotohno
doi:10.1038/ncb1631
Nature Cell Biology 9, 1089-1097 (2007)
Activation of the lectin DC-SIGN induces an immature dendritic cell phenotype triggering Rho-GTPase activity required for HIV-1 replication
Ashleigh Hodges, Katherine Sharrocks, Mariola Edelmann, Dilair Baban, Arnaud Moris, Olivier Schwartz, Hal Drakesmith, Kay Davies, Benedikt Kessler, Andrew McMichael & Alison Simmons
doi:10.1038/ni1470
Nature Immunology 8, 569-577 (2007)
Direct extracellular interaction between the early secreted antigen ESAT-6 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and TLR2 inhibits TLR signaling in macrophages
Sushil Kumar Pathak, Sanchita Basu, Kunal Kumar Basu, Anirban Banerjee, Shresh Pathak, Asima Bhattacharyya, Tsuneyasu Kaisho, Manikuntala Kundu & Joyoti Basu
doi:10.1038/ni1468
Nature Immunology 8, 610-618 (2007)
News and views
Tuberculosis: unsealing the apoptotic envelope
Steven A Porcelli & William R Jacobs Jr
doi:10.1038/ni1008-1101
Nature Immunology 9, 1101-1102 (2008)
Tuberculosis: Shrewd survival strategy
Steven A. Porcelli
doi:10.1038/454702a
Nature 454, 702-703 (2008)
DC-SIGN 'AIDS' HIV immune evasion and infection
Anthony L Cunningham, Andrew N Harman & Heather Donaghy
doi:10.1038/ni0607-556
Nature Immunology 8, 556-558 (2007)
Research highlights
Viral immunity: Persistent viruses help opportunists
Rachel David
doi:10.1038/nri2452
Nature Reviews Immunology 8, 908-909 (2008)
Parasitology: Antigen switching joins the DOTs
Andrew Jermy
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1975
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 650-651 (2008)
HIV: Ironing out the causes of B-cell dysfunction
Kirsty Minton
doi:10.1038/nri2401
Nature Reviews Immunology 8, 662 (2008)
Immune regulation: Gut responses tamed by friendly bacteria
Lucy Bird
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1950
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 570 (2008)
Cellular microbiology: Virus plays dead
Arianne Heinrichs
doi:10.1038/nrm2420
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 9, 422 (2008)
Host response: Innate mimicry
Sheilagh Molloy
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1903
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 329 (2008)
Bacterial virulence: The cycle of success for Legionella
Sheilagh Molloy
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1822
Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 7 (2008)
Endocytosis: A new way to hijack the cell
Francesca Cesari
doi:10.1038/nrm2318
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 9, 2 (2008)
HIV: The escape artist
Lucy Bird
doi:10.1038/nri2246
Nature Reviews Immunology 8, 4-5 (2008)
Viral pathogenesis: Death by viroporin
Susan Jones
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1801
Nature Reviews Microbiology 5, 907 (2007)
Bacterial virulence: The integrin connection
Sheilagh Molloy
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1805
Nature Reviews Microbiology 5, 908 (2007)
Immune evasion: Evasive manoeuvres
Sharon Ahmad
doi:10.1038/nri2157
Nature Reviews Immunology 7, 660-661 (2007)
Bacterial virulence: Shigella shoots, Shigella scores
Sharon Ahmad
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1754
Nature Reviews Microbiology 5, 743 (2007)
Pseudomonas makes its own bed
Susan Jones
doi:10.1038/nrmicro1683
Nature Reviews Microbiology 5, 399 (2007)
