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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Oral Transmission of Listeria monocytogenes in Mice via Ingestion of Contaminated Food
Published on: May 6, 2013
Listeria monocytogenes, a model in infection biology
Marc Lecuit1,2,3,4,5
1Institut Pasteur, Biology of Infection Unit, Paris, France.
Insights
Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis, a serious infection. Research highlights key bacterial and host factors crucial for understanding its pathogenicity and infection biology.
Area of Science:
- Infection Biology
- Molecular Microbiology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Listeria monocytogenes is a significant foodborne pathogen causing listeriosis, a severe systemic infection.
- Listeriosis presents as bacteremia, potentially leading to meningoencephalitis or fetal-placental infection.
- The pathogen is a critical model for advancing life sciences and understanding infection biology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the clinical and pathophysiological aspects of listeriosis.
- To highlight major discoveries in bacterial and host factors of L. monocytogenes pathogenicity.
- To summarize key findings in molecular and cellular microbiology related to L. monocytogenes.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical and pathophysiological features of listeriosis.
- Analysis of molecular and cellular microbiology research on L. monocytogenes.
- Identification and characterization of bacterial and host factors.
Main Results:
- Detailed understanding of L. monocytogenes pathogenic properties.
- Identification of multiple bacterial and host factors critical to pathogenicity.
- Advancements in molecular and cell biology through L. monocytogenes research.
Conclusions:
- Listeria monocytogenes is a vital model organism for infection biology.
- Pascale Cossart's work has significantly advanced the understanding of L. monocytogenes pathogenicity.
- Ongoing research continues to reveal critical factors in listeriosis.
Abstract:
Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis, a systemic infection which manifests as bacteremia, often complicated by meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals and the elderly, and fetal-placental infection in pregnant women. It has emerged over the past decades as a major foodborne pathogen, responsible for numerous outbreaks in Western countries, and more recently in Africa. L. monocytogenes' pathogenic properties have been studied in detail, thanks to concomitant advances in biological sciences, in particular molecular biology, cell biology and immunology. L. monocytogenes has also been instrumental to basic advances in life sciences. L. monocytogenes therefore stands both a tool to understand biology and a model in infection biology. This review briefly summarises the clinical and some of the pathophysiological features of listeriosis. In the context of this special issue, it highlights some of the major discoveries made by Pascale Cossart in the fields of molecular and cellular microbiology since the mid-eighties regarding the identification and characterisation of multiple bacterial and host factors critical to L. monocytogenes pathogenicity. It also briefly summarises some of the key findings from our laboratory on this topic over the past years.
