Proteins involved in Francisella tularensis survival and replication inside macrophages

Francisella tularensis, the etiological agent of tularemia, is a member of the γ-proteobacteria class of Gram-negative bacteria. This highly virulent bacterium can infect a large range of mammalian species and has been recognized as a human pathogen for a century. F. tularensis is able to survive in vitro in a variety of cell types. In vivo, the bacterium replicates mainly in infected macrophages, using the cytoplasmic compartment as a replicative niche. To successfully adapt to this stressful environment, F. tularensis must simultaneously: produce and regulate the expression of a series of dedicated virulence factors; adapt its metabolic needs to the nutritional context of the host cytosol; and control the innate immune cytosolic surveillance pathways to avoid premature cell death. We will focus here on the secretion or release of bacterial proteins in the host, as well as on the envelope proteins, involved in bacterial survival inside macrophages.