TY - JOUR
T1 - Biological Trojan horse
T2 - Antigen 43 provides specific bacterial uptake and survival in human neutrophils
AU - Fexby, Sara
AU - Bjarnsholt, Thomas
AU - Jensen, P. Ø.
AU - Roos, Viktoria
AU - Høiby, N
AU - Givskov, Michael Christian
AU - Klemm, Per
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Escherichia coli is a versatile pathogen causing millions of infections in humans every year. This bacterium can form multicellular aggregates when it expresses a self-associating protein, antigen 43 (Ag43), on its surface. We have discovered that Ag43-expressing E. coli cells are efficiently taken up by human defense cells, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), in an opsonin-independent manner. Surprisingly, the phagocytosed bacteria were not immediately killed but resided as tight aggregates within the PMNs. Our observations indicate that Ag43-mediated uptake and survival in PMNs constitute a mechanism to subvert one of the primary defense mechanisms of the human body.
AB - Escherichia coli is a versatile pathogen causing millions of infections in humans every year. This bacterium can form multicellular aggregates when it expresses a self-associating protein, antigen 43 (Ag43), on its surface. We have discovered that Ag43-expressing E. coli cells are efficiently taken up by human defense cells, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), in an opsonin-independent manner. Surprisingly, the phagocytosed bacteria were not immediately killed but resided as tight aggregates within the PMNs. Our observations indicate that Ag43-mediated uptake and survival in PMNs constitute a mechanism to subvert one of the primary defense mechanisms of the human body.
U2 - 10.1128/IAI.01117-06
DO - 10.1128/IAI.01117-06
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 17030570
SN - 0019-9567
VL - 75
SP - 30
EP - 34
JO - Infection and Immunity
JF - Infection and Immunity
IS - 1
ER -