Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 10, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancing Antibiotic Resistance Research Using an Efflux-Deficient Bacterial Strain and a Single-Copy Gene Expression System
05:06

Author Spotlight: Advancing Antibiotic Resistance Research Using an Efflux-Deficient Bacterial Strain and a Single-Copy Gene Expression System

Published on: January 5, 2024

846

Acinetobacter baumannii: An Ancient Commensal with Weapons of a Pathogen

Meysam Sarshar1, Payam Behzadi2, Daniela Scribano3,4

  • 1Research Laboratories, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, 00146 Rome, Italy.

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 3, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Acinetobacter baumannii is a dangerous pathogen causing pneumonia, with rising antibiotic resistance. Understanding its virulence factors and host interactions is key to developing new treatments.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Acinetobacter baumannii is a critical pathogen causing severe community-acquired and nosocomial infections, particularly pneumonia.
  • Increasing antibiotic resistance in A. baumannii strains limits treatment options and elevates mortality rates.
  • Virulence factors of A. baumannii contribute to antibiotic resistance, environmental survival, host cell adhesion, invasion, and immune evasion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current knowledge on A. baumannii genetic features and virulence factors.
  • To emphasize the mechanisms of host-pathogen interaction in the respiratory tract.
  • To present recent findings on host defense mechanisms against A. baumannii infections.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative genomic studies to identify virulence factors.
  • In vitro and in vivo models to investigate host-pathogen interactions and host defense.
  • Literature review of current data on A. baumannii pathogenesis.

Main Results:

  • A. baumannii possesses diverse virulence factors enabling antibiotic resistance, persistence, and evasion of host defenses.
  • Specific mechanisms for adherence to and invasion of respiratory cells have been identified.
  • Studies reveal insights into the innate immune response to A. baumannii infections.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding A. baumannii pathogenesis is crucial for combating infections.
  • Novel therapeutic strategies targeting anti-adhesion, anti-virulence, and anti-quorum sensing pathways show promise.
  • Further research into host-pathogen interactions can guide the development of effective treatments against resistant strains.
Keywords:
Acinetobacter baumanniiadherencecommunity-acquired infectionsinternalizationinvasionnosocomial infectionspersistencevirulence factors

More Related Videos

Replication of the Ordered, Nonredundant Library of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PA14 Transposon Insertion Mutants11:35

Replication of the Ordered, Nonredundant Library of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PA14 Transposon Insertion Mutants

Published on: May 4, 2018

8.4K
Porphyromonas gingivalis as a Model Organism for Assessing Interaction of Anaerobic Bacteria with Host Cells12:16

Porphyromonas gingivalis as a Model Organism for Assessing Interaction of Anaerobic Bacteria with Host Cells

Published on: December 17, 2015

26.7K

Related Concept Videos

Bacterial Phylum Actinobacteria01:30

Bacterial Phylum Actinobacteria

Coryneform bacteria are gram-positive, aerobic, nonmotile rods that exhibit irregular, club-shaped, or V-shaped arrangements. Their V-shape results from snapping division, where the inner cell wall layer forms the cross-wall, while the outer layer remains intact until it ruptures on one side, causing the daughter cells to bend away.The primary genera are Corynebacterium and Arthrobacter. Corynebacterium includes diverse species, ranging from saprophytes to pathogens like Corynebacterium...
275
Bacterial Phylum Bacteroidota01:26

Bacterial Phylum Bacteroidota

The phylum Bacteroidota includes over 700 species classified into four primary orders: Bacteroidales, Cytophagales, Flavobacteriales, and Sphingobacteriales. These gram-negative, non-sporulating rods exhibit saccharolytic capabilities and can be aerobic or fermentative, encompassing obligate aerobes, facultative aerobes, and obligate anaerobes. Many species display gliding motility, though some are nonmotile or use flagella. The genus Bacteroides is well-studied due to its significant role in...
269
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing01:28

Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing

Quorum sensing is a mechanism of bacterial communication that enables coordinated gene expression in response to changes in population density. This facilitates collective behaviors that enhance survival, resource acquisition, and ecological adaptation. This process relies on small signaling molecules called autoinducers that accumulate as bacterial populations grow. When a critical threshold concentration of autoinducers is reached, bacterial cells collectively modify gene expression,...
200
Diversity of Protists I01:15

Diversity of Protists I

Excavata is a diverse group of protists that includes both chemoorganotrophic and phototrophic species, with some thriving in anaerobic environments. Among the key groups within Excavata are diplomonads and parabasalids, which are flagellated protists that lack mitochondria and chloroplasts. These microorganisms typically inhabit anoxic environments, such as the intestines of animals, where they exist either symbiotically or as parasites, relying on fermentation for energy production. Some...
600
Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens01:31

Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens

The human immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against bacterial infections. It consists of various immune cells, each playing a specific role in the defense mechanism.
Phagocytes
Phagocytes are the frontline soldiers of the immune system. They include neutrophils and macrophages. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell and are quickly mobilized to the site of infection. Macrophages are larger cells that patrol...
1.8K
Bacterial Phylum Spirochaetes01:30

Bacterial Phylum Spirochaetes

Spirochetes, unique bacteria in the phylum Spirochaetes, are gram-negative, motile, tightly coiled, slender, and flexible. They inhabit aquatic sediments and animals, with some causing diseases like syphilis. Spirochetes are classified into eight genera based on habitat, pathogenicity, phylogeny, and characteristics.Their distinctive motility arises from endoflagella, located within the cell’s periplasm. These endoflagella anchor at the cell poles and extend along the cell length, encased...
263