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.

1. The University of British Columbia, Michael Smith Laboratories, 301-2185 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada.
2. 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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