host-pathogen interaction
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyPhosphorylation of Toxoplasma gondii Secreted Proteins during Acute and Chronic Stages of InfectionToxoplasma gondii is a common parasite that infects up to one-third of the human population. Initially, the parasite grows rapidly, infecting and destroying cells of the host, but subsequently switches to a slow-growing form and establishes chronic infection. In both stages, the parasite lives within a membrane-bound vacuole within the host cell, but in the chronic...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAn Avirulence Gene Cluster in the Wheat Stripe Rust Pathogen (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) Identified through Genetic Mapping and Whole-Genome Sequencing of a Sexual PopulationStripe rust is a destructive disease of wheat worldwide. Growing resistant cultivars is the most effective, easy-to-use, economical, and environmentally friendly strategy for the control of the disease. However, P. striiformis f. sp. tritici can produce new virulent races that may circumvent race-specific resistance. Therefore, understanding the genetic basis...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyType III Secretion Effector VopQ of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Modulates Central Carbon Metabolism in Epithelial CellsThe metabolic response of host cells upon infection is pathogen specific, and infection-induced host metabolic reprogramming may have beneficial effects on the proliferation of pathogens. V. parahaemolyticus contains a range of virulence factors to manipulate host signaling pathways and metabolic processes. In this study, we identified that the T3SS1 VopQ effector...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAirway Mucus Restricts Neisseria meningitidis Away from Nasopharyngeal Epithelial Cells and Protects the Mucosa from InflammationN. meningitidis is transmitted from person to person by aerosol droplets produced by breathing, talking, or coughing or by direct contact with a contaminated fluid. The natural reservoir of N. meningitidis is the human nasopharynx mucosa, located at the back of the nose and above the oropharynx. The...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyStaphylococcus aureus Biofilm Growth on Cystic Fibrosis Airway Epithelial Cells Is Enhanced during Respiratory Syncytial Virus CoinfectionThe airways of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) are commonly chronically infected, and Staphylococcus aureus is the dominant bacterial respiratory pathogen in CF children. CF patients also experience frequent respiratory virus infections, and it has been hypothesized that virus coinfection increases the severity of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNovel Immunomodulatory Flagellin-Like Protein FlaC in Campylobacter jejuni and Other CampylobacteralesFlagellins not only are important for bacterial motility but are major bacterial proteins that can modulate host responses via Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) or other pattern recognition receptors. Campylobacterales colonizing the intestinal tracts of different host species harbor a gene coding for an unusual flagellin, FlaC, that is not involved in motility but is secreted and possesses a chimeric amino acid sequence composed of...