Host-Microbe Biology
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMacrophages and Dendritic Cells Are the Predominant Cells Infected in Measles in HumansWe have brought together a unique collection of 23 human cases of measles infection and studied the types of cells that are infected. This work has not been done with modern technologies such as double labeling with antibodies and confocal microscopy in human cases primarily due to the fact that it is difficult to obtain the material because, fortunately, measles is fatal in only a very small fraction of infected patients. During the...
Opinion/Hypothesis | Host-Microbe BiologyIn Defense of an Academic Career in MicrobiologyThe rise of Quit Lit describing the myriad reasons for leaving academia and constant complaining by mentors leave many trainees with little desire for an academic career. Although there are clearly structural and social problems in academia, I feel that they are outweighed by the benefits of working and living in an academic environment.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyPseudomonas aeruginosa Protease IV Exacerbates Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Systemic DiseaseS. pneumoniae remains the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia despite widespread use of pneumococcal vaccines, forcing the necessity for appropriate treatment to control pneumococcal infections. Coinfections involving S. pneumoniae with other bacterial pathogens threaten antibiotic treatment...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyA Predicted Mannoprotein Participates in Cryptococcus gattii Capsular StructureCryptococcus gattii has the ability to escape from the host’s immune system through poorly understood mechanisms and can lead to the death of healthy individuals. The role of mannoproteins in C. gattii pathogenicity is not completely understood. The present work characterized a protein, Kpr1, that...
Editor's Pick Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologyMalaria in Farmed Ungulates: an Exciting New System for Comparative ParasitologyA wide array of vertebrates can serve as the intermediate hosts to malaria parasites (Apicomplexa: Haemosporida), such as birds, lizards, and several groups of mammals, including primates, bats, rodents, and ungulates. The latter group of hosts has not been intensively studied since early descriptions of a small set of taxa were published, but new reports of these parasites in both expected and new hosts have recently been published....
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyInfluential Parameters for the Analysis of Intracellular Parasite MetabolomicsMolecular characterization of pathogens such as the malaria parasite can lead to improved biological understanding and novel treatment strategies. However, the distinctive biology of the Plasmodium parasite, including its repetitive genome and the requirement for growth within a host cell, hinders progress toward these goals. Untargeted metabolomics is a promising approach to learn about pathogen biology. By measuring many...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyImpact of Long-Term Erythromycin Therapy on the Oropharyngeal Microbiome and Resistance Gene Reservoir in Non-Cystic Fibrosis BronchiectasisRecent demonstrations that long-term macrolide therapy can prevent exacerbations in chronic airways diseases have led to a dramatic increase in their use. However, little is known about the wider, potentially adverse impacts of these treatments. Substantial disruption of the upper airway commensal microbiota might reduce its contribution to host defense and local immune regulation, while increases in macrolide resistance carriage would...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIron Acquisition and Siderophore Release by Carbapenem-Resistant Sequence Type 258 Klebsiella pneumoniaeCarbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, including K. pneumoniae, are a major health care concern worldwide because they cause a wide range of infection and are resistant to all or nearly all antibiotics. To cause infection, these bacteria must acquire iron, and a major mechanism of acquiring iron is by secreting a molecule called enterobactin that strips...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyEhrlichia chaffeensis TRP75 Interacts with Host Cell Targets Involved in Homeostasis, Cytoskeleton Organization, and Apoptosis Regulation To Promote InfectionHuman monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) is caused by an obligatory intracellular bacterium, E. chaffeensis, and is one of the most prevalent, life-threatening emerging infectious zoonoses in the United States. The mechanisms through which E. chaffeensis invades and establishes an intracellular niche are not well understood but are dependent on secreted ehrlichial effector proteins. The significance of this study is in addressing how...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMutations Conferring Increased Sensitivity to Tripartite Motif 22 Restriction Accumulated Progressively in the Nucleoprotein of Seasonal Influenza A (H1N1) Viruses between 1918 and 2009We have uncovered that long-term circulation of seasonal influenza A viruses (IAV) in the human population resulted in the progressive acquisition of increased sensitivity to a component of the innate immune response: the type I interferon-inducible TRIM22 protein, which acts as a restriction factor by inducing the polyubiquitination of the IAV nucleoprotein (NP). We show that four arginine residues present in the NP of the 1918 H1N1...