Induction of Necrosis in Human Macrophage Cell Lines by Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans Strains Isolated from Fatal Cases of Systemic Infections

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 20; no. 17; p. 4109
• Main Authors: Weerasekera, Dulanthi, Hahn, Jonas, Herrmann, Martin, Burkovski, Andreas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22-08-2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Arthritis; Bacteria; Cell culture; Cell death; Cell Line; Cell lines; Corynebacterium - physiology; Corynebacterium diphtheriae - physiology; Corynebacterium Infections - microbiology; Corynebacterium Infections - mortality; Corynebacterium Infections - pathology; Diphtheria; Diphtheria toxin; Endocarditis; Experiments; FACS; Fatalities; Flow cytometry; Fluorescence; host-pathogen interaction; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Immune system; Infections; live cell imaging; Macrophages; Macrophages - microbiology; Necrosis; Pathogens; Species Specificity; Strains (organisms); Survival; THP-1 cells; Tox gene; host-pathogen interaction; THP-1 cells; macrophages; FACS; live cell imaging; cell death
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms20174109

When infecting a human host,
and
are able to impair macrophage maturation and induce cell death. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. As a framework for this project, a combination of fluorescence microscopy, cytotoxicity assays, live cell imaging, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting was applied to understand the pathogenicity of two
strains isolated from fatal cases of systemic infections. The results showed a clear cytotoxic effect of the bacteria. The observed survival of the pathogens in macrophages and, subsequent, necrotic lysis of cells may be mechanisms explaining dissemination of
and
to distant organs in the body.