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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Oral Transmission of Listeria monocytogenes in Mice via Ingestion of Contaminated Food
Published on: May 6, 2013
Listeria monocytogenes membrane trafficking and lifestyle: the exception or the rule?
Javier Pizarro-Cerdá1, Pascale Cossart
1Unité des Interactions Bactéries-Cellules, Institut Pasteur, Paris F75015, France.
Abstract:
Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular bacterial pathogen that promotes its internalization within nonprofessional phagocytes by interacting with specific host cell receptors. L. monocytogenes resides transiently in a membrane-bound compartment before escaping into the host cell cytosol where bacterial proliferation takes place. Actin-based motility then promotes cell-to-cell pathogen spread. Extensive studies on cytoskeleton rearrangements, membrane trafficking, and other events have established this microorganism as an archetype of cellular function subversion for intracellular parasitism. Here we discuss the most significant membrane trafficking pathways hijacked by L. monocytogenes during the host cell infection process and compare them to those of other intracellular pathogens, in particular Shigella flexneri, Salmonella enterica, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
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