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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Applying an Inducible Expression System to Study Interference of Bacterial Virulence Factors with Intracellular Signaling
Published on: June 25, 2015
Antiinflammatory cAMP signaling and cell migration genes co-opted by the anthrax bacillus
Chun Kim1, Sarah Wilcox-Adelman, Yasuyo Sano
1Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Abstract:
Bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent of anthrax, avoids immune surveillance and commandeers host macrophages as a vehicle for lymphatic spreading. Here, we show that B. anthracis edema toxin (ET), via its adenylyl cyclase activity, dramatically increases the motility of infected macrophages and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor. The transcription factor CREB and the syndecan-1 gene, a CREB target, play crucial roles in ET-induced macrophage migration. These molecular and cellular responses occur in macrophages engaged in antiinflammatory G protein-coupled receptor activation, thus illustrating a common signaling circuitry controlling resolution of inflammation and host cell hijacking by B. anthracis.
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