Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Microbiology

Preparing the shot

Nature volume 449, pages 798–799 (2007)Cite this article

Direct injection of proteins into host cells is one of the tricks bacteria use during infection. It seems that, to achieve this, the stomach pathogen Helicobacter pylori first grabs the cell by its surface receptors.

So far, CagA is the only H. pylori protein known to be injected into the host cell. In the bacterial chromosome, the cagA gene is part of a stretch of DNA called cagPAI, which also encodes the structural components of the type-IV secretion machinery3. Bacterial strains harbouring cagPAI are considered to be more virulent than other strains4.

Your institute does not have access to this article

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Figure 1: Translocation of the CagA protein of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori into host cells.

References

  1. Kusters, J. G., van Vliet, A. H. & Kuipers, E. J. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 19, 449–490 (2006).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kwok, T. et al. Nature 449, 862–866 (2007).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Censini, S., Stein, M. & Covacci, A. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 4, 41–46 (2001).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Hatakeyama, M. Nature Rev. Cancer 4, 688–694 (2004).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Stein, M., Rappuoli, R. & Covacci, A. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 97, 1263–1268 (2000).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Odenbreit, S. et al. Science 287, 1497–1500 (2000).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Selbach, M., Moese, S., Hauck, C. R., Meyer, T. F. & Backert, S. J. Biol. Chem. 277, 6775–6778 (2002).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Amieva, M. R. et al. Science 300, 1430–1434 (2003).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Xiong, J. P. et al. Science 296, 151–155 (2002).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Agerer, F. et al. J. Cell Sci. 118, 2189–2200 (2005).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Watarai, M., Funato, S. & Sasakawa, C. J. Exp. Med. 183, 991–999 (1996).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christof R. Hauck is at the Lehrstuhl Zellbiologie, Fachbereich Biologie X908, Universität Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany. christof.hauck@uni-konstanz.de ,

    Christof R. Hauck

Authors
  1. Christof R. Hauck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hauck, C. Preparing the shot. Nature 449, 798–799 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/449798a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/449798a

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing