Microbiology: Recognition of host immune activation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Licheng Wu, Oscar Estrada, Olga Zaborina, Manjeet Bains, Le Shen, Jonathan E. Kohler, Nachiket Patel, Mark W. Musch, Eugene B. Chang, Yang Xin Fu, Michael A. Jacobs, Michael I. Nishimura, Robert E.W. Hancock, Jerrold R. Turner, John C. Alverdy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

266 Scopus citations

Abstract

It is generally reasoned that lethal infections caused by opportunistic pathogens develop permissively by invading a host that is both physiologically stressed and immunologically compromised. However, an alternative hypothesis might be that opportunistic pathogens actively sense alterations in host immune function and respond by enhancing their virulence phenotype. We demonstrate that interferon-γ binds to an outer membrane protein in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, OprF, resulting in the expression of a quorum-sensing dependent virulence determinant, the PA-I lectin. These observations provide details of the mechanisms by which prokaryotic organisms are directly signaled by immune activation in their eukaryotic host.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)774-777
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume309
Issue number5735
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 29 2005

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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