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Interactions of pathogenic neisseriae with epithelial cell membranes

A J Merz1, M So

  • 1Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, L220, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon 97201-3098, USA.

Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology
|October 14, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis use virulence factors like type IV pili and Opa/Opc proteins to colonize human mucosal epithelia. Understanding these bacterial adhesion and invasion mechanisms is key to developing new treatments.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Cell Biology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococci) and Neisseria meningitidis (meningococci) are closely related bacterial pathogens that infect human mucosal epithelia.
  • Infection involves a multistep process: adhesion, invasion, intracellular persistence, transcytosis, and exit.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review Neisseria virulence factors in the context of epithelial cell biology.
  • To emphasize the signaling functions of type IV pili, twitching motility, and Opa/Opc adhesins/invasins.
  • To summarize bacterial intracellular trafficking and growth.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on Neisseria pathogenesis.
  • Focus on molecular mechanisms of adhesion and invasion.
  • Integration of cell biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and genomics tools.

Main Results:

  • Neisseria initiates infection via a multistep adhesion cascade at epithelial surfaces.
  • Virulence factors, including type IV pili and Opa/Opc proteins, modulate host cell interactions and signaling.
  • Bacterial intracellular trafficking and growth are critical for infection progression.

Conclusions:

  • Recent advances are providing a detailed molecular understanding of Neisseria colonization.
  • Further research integrating diverse scientific tools will yield unprecedented insights into host-pathogen interactions.

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