Bordetella pertussis entry into respiratory epithelial cells and intracellular survival

Bordetella pertussis is the causative agent of pertussis, aka whooping cough. Although generally considered an extracellular pathogen, this bacterium has been found inside respiratory epithelial cells, which might represent a survival strategy inside the host. Relatively little is known, however, ab...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Lamberti, Yanina Andrea, Gorgojo, Juan Pablo, Massillo, Cintia Lorena, Rodriguez, Maria Eugenia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/93467
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/93467
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:BACTERIAL PERSISTENCE
BORDETELLA PERTUSSIS
RESPIRATORY EPITHELIAL CELLS
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.4
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
Descripción
Sumario:Bordetella pertussis is the causative agent of pertussis, aka whooping cough. Although generally considered an extracellular pathogen, this bacterium has been found inside respiratory epithelial cells, which might represent a survival strategy inside the host. Relatively little is known, however, about the mechanism of internalization and the fate of B. pertussis inside the epithelia. We show here that B. pertussis is able to enter those cells by a mechanism dependent on microtubule assembly, lipid raft integrity, and the activation of a tyrosine-kinase-mediated signaling. Once inside the cell, a significant proportion of the intracellular bacteria evade phagolysosomal fusion and remain viable in nonacidic lysosome-associated membrane-protein-1-negative compartments. In addition, intracellular B. pertussis was found able to repopulate the extracellular environment after complete elimination of the extracellular bacteria with polymyxin B. Taken together, these data suggest that B. pertussis is able to survive within respiratory epithelial cells and by this means potentially contribute to host immune system evasion.