Mechanisms of bacterial pathogenicity

• Published in: Postgraduate medical journal Vol. 78; no. 918; pp. 216 - 224
• Main Authors: Wilson, J W, Schurr, M J, LeBlanc, C L, Ramamurthy, R, Buchanan, K L, Nickerson, C A
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: London The Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine 01-04-2002; BMJ; BMJ Publishing Group Ltd; Oxford University Press; BMJ Group
• Subjects: Adhesins, Bacterial - physiology; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - immunology; Bacteria - pathogenicity; Bacterial Adhesion - physiology; Bacterial Capsules - physiology; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial infections; Bacterial Infections - etiology; bacterial pathogenicity; Bacterial Toxins - chemistry; Bacterial Toxins - classification; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Wall; Communicable diseases; Cytokines; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Bacterial - physiology; Evaluation; General aspects; Genes; Genomes; Humans; Immune system; Infectious diseases; lipopolysaccharide; Lipopolysaccharides - immunology; LPS; Medical sciences; Molecular weight; Neutrophils; PAMPs; pathogen associated molecular patterns; Pathogenesis; Pathogenic microorganisms; Pathogens; Proteins; Review; Risk factors; Sigma Factor - physiology; Space life sciences; Streptococcus infections; TNF-α; tumour necrosis factor-alpha; Vaccines; Virulence - physiology; United States; Infection; Human; Pathogenicity; Pathogenesis; Bacteriosis; Bacteria; Review; Non-programmatic
• ISSN: 0032-5473; 1469-0756
• DOI: 10.1136/pmj.78.918.216

Pathogenic bacteria utilise a number of mechanisms to cause disease in human hosts. Bacterial pathogens express a wide range of molecules that bind host cell targets to facilitate a variety of different host responses. The molecular strategies used by bacteria to interact with the host can be unique to specific pathogens or conserved across several different species. A key to fighting bacterial disease is the identification and characterisation of all these different strategies. The availability of complete genome sequences for several bacterial pathogens coupled with bioinformatics will lead to significant advances toward this goal.