Nature Immunology
3, 1033 - 1040 (2002)
doi:10.1038/ni1102-1033
Bacterial strategies for overcoming host innate and adaptive immune responsesMathias W. Hornef1, Mary Jo Wick2, Mikael Rhen1
& Staffan Normark11
Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center (MTC), Karolinska Institutet, Nobelsväg 16, SE-17177 Stockholm, Sweden. 2
Department of Clinical Immunology, University of Göteborg, Guldhedsgatan 10, SE-41346 Göteborg, Sweden.
Correspondence should be addressed to Staffan Normark staffan.normark@smi.ki.seIn higher organisms a variety of host defense mechanisms control the resident microflora and, in most cases, effectively prevent invasive microbial disease. However, it appears that microbial organisms have coevolved with their hosts to overcome protective host barriers and, in selected cases, actually take advantage of innate host responses. Many microbial pathogens avoid host recognition or dampen the subsequent immune activation through sophisticated interactions with host responses, but some pathogens benefit from the stimulation of inflammatory reactions. This review will describe the spectrum of strategies used by microbes to avoid or provoke activation of the host's immune response as well as our current understanding of the role this immunomodulatory interference plays during microbial pathogenesis.
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