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Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Biomimetic Materials to Characterize Bacteria-host Interactions
Published on: November 16, 2015
Host-pathogen interactions in Vibrio vulnificus: responses of monocytes and vascular endothelial cells to live
Celia Murciano1, Lien-I Hor, Carmen Amaro
1Estructura de Investigación Interdisciplinar en Biotecnología y Medicina (ERI BIOTECMED). Department of Microbiology & Ecology, University of Valencia, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain.
Aim:
To demonstrate that Vibrio vulnificus, a sepsis-related aquatic pathogen, can provoke a strong pro-inflammatory reaction in blood-associated target cells.
Materials & Methods:
We selected two strains of the two main phylogenetic lineages, two human cell lines, monocytes and vascular endothelial cells and designed an in vitro infection model simulating early septicemia.
Results:
Both strains caused a strong cell-specific pro-inflammatory response and produced a high degree of cell damage that ended with death by lysis (endothelial cells) or apoptosis/lysis (monocytes). The interaction with endothelial cells was stronger than expected and significantly different for both lineages.
Conclusion:
The early interaction with endothelial cells could have a direct role in sepsis and could explain, at least partially, the differences in pathogenicity between both lineages.
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