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Listeria monocytogenes Infection of the Brain
05:02

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Published on: October 2, 2018

Listeria monocytogenes transiently alters mitochondrial dynamics during infection

Fabrizia Stavru1, Frédéric Bouillaud, Anna Sartori

  • 1Unité des Interactions Bactéries-Cellules, Institut Pasteur, U604, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 75015 Paris, France.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|February 16, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes infection causes mitochondrial fragmentation, impacting infection efficiency. This disruption, driven by listeriolysin O, highlights mitochondrial dynamics

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Microbiology
  • Mitochondrial Biology

Background:

  • Mitochondria are crucial, dynamic organelles involved in cellular processes.
  • Mitochondrial dynamics, including fusion and fission, are vital for cell health.
  • Pathogenic bacteria can manipulate host cell organelles during infection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of Listeria monocytogenes infection on mitochondrial dynamics.
  • To identify bacterial factors responsible for altering mitochondrial networks.
  • To understand the role of mitochondrial dynamics in Listeria infection efficiency.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of mitochondrial morphology in infected host cells.
  • Comparison between pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes and nonpathogenic Listeria innocua.
  • siRNA-mediated alteration of mitochondrial fusion and fission proteins.
  • Identification of bacterial toxins involved in mitochondrial disruption.

Main Results:

  • Listeria monocytogenes infection induces transient mitochondrial network fragmentation.
  • This fragmentation is specific to pathogenic Listeria and not observed with other pathogens.
  • Altered mitochondrial fusion or fission significantly affects Listeria infection efficiency.
  • The bacterial toxin listeriolysin O is the primary factor causing mitochondrial disruption.

Conclusions:

  • Listeria monocytogenes actively disrupts host mitochondrial dynamics during infection.
  • Mitochondrial fragmentation and functional modulation by listeriolysin O are key to Listeria's strategy.
  • Interference with mitochondrial dynamics is crucial for Listeria's early infection stages.

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