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Manipulation of host-cell pathways by bacterial pathogens

Nature volume 449, pages 827–834 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Bacterial pathogens operate by attacking crucial intracellular pathways in their hosts. These pathogens usually target more than one intracellular pathway and often interact at several points in each of these pathways to commandeer them fully. Although different bacterial pathogens tend to exploit similar pathway components in the host, the way in which they 'hijack' host cells usually differs. Knowledge of how pathogens target distinct cytoskeletal components and immune-cell signalling pathways is rapidly advancing, together with the understanding of bacterial virulence at a molecular level. Studying how these bacterial pathogens subvert host-cell pathways is central to understanding infectious disease.

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Figure 1: The cell biology of bacterial infections.
Figure 2: Generation of pedestals by EPEC and EHEC.
Figure 3: Subversion of NF-κB-mediated signalling.
Figure 4: Prevention of antigen presentation by APCs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank members of B.B.F.'s laboratory for helpful discussions and critical reading of the manuscript. We gratefully acknowledge F. Ness for assistance with the preparation of figures. We apologize to authors whose work could not be cited as a result of space restrictions. Work in B.B.F.'s laboratory is supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, and Genome Canada. A.P.B. is supported by fellowships from the CIHR and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). J.A.G. is supported by a Canadian Association for Gastroenterology/CIHR/AstraZeneca fellowship and a fellowship from the MSFHR. B.B.F. is a CIHR Distinguished Investigator, an HHMI International Research Scholar, and the Peter Wall Distinguished Professor, at the University of British Columbia.

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  1. Julian A. Guttman

    Present address: Present address: Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Department of Biological Sciences, Room B8276, Shrum Science Centre, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada.,

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  1. The University of British Columbia, Michael Smith Laboratories, 301-2185 East Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, British Columbia, Canada

    Amit P. Bhavsar, Julian A. Guttman & B. Brett Finlay

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Correspondence should be addressed to B.B.F. (bfinlay@interchange.ubc.ca).

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Bhavsar, A., Guttman, J. & Finlay, B. Manipulation of host-cell pathways by bacterial pathogens. Nature 449, 827–834 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06247

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