Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a recombinant toxic shock syndrome toxin (rTSST)-1 variant vaccine: a randomised, double-blind, adjuvant-controlled, dose escalation first-in-man trial.

Background: Staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome is a superantigen-driven potentially life-threatening disease affecting mainly young and otherwise healthy individuals. Currently, no specific treatment or preventive measure is available. We aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a recombinant detoxified toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 variant (rTSST-1v) vaccine in adult volunteers.

Multiple host kinases contribute to Akt activation during Salmonella infection.

SopB is a type 3 secreted effector with phosphatase activity that Salmonella employs to manipulate host cellular processes, allowing the bacteria to establish their intracellular niche. One important function of SopB is activation of the pro-survival kinase Akt/protein kinase B in the infected host cell. Here, we examine the mechanism of Akt activation by SopB during Salmonella infection.

Modulation of host phosphoinositide metabolism during Salmonella invasion by the type III secreted effector SopB.

Phosphoinositides (PI) play an important role in many different cellular processes. Their generation and functions, however, are very dynamic, and the detection of localized events usually requires very precise imaging techniques. Recent advances in lipid research raised the possibility of designing molecular probes to specifically detect lipids in different subcellular compartments and have provided new tools to directly image PI dynamics in living cells.

Activity modulation of the bacterial Rho GAP YopE: an inspiration for the investigation of mammalian Rho GAPs.

The Yersinia enterocolitica Rho GTPase Activating Protein (Rho GAP) YopE belongs to a group of bacterial virulence factors that is translocated into infected target cells by a type three secretion system. Structurally and biochemically YopE resembles eukaryotic Rho GAPs which control various cellular functions by modulating the activity of Rho GTP binding proteins. Here we summarise the published information on cellular effects, Rho protein substrates, compartmentalisation and turnover of YopE.

Yersinia enterocolitica differentially modulates RhoG activity in host cells.

Pathogenic bacteria of the genus Yersinia (Y. pestis, Y. enterocolitica and Y.

Alteration of the parasite plasma membrane and the parasitophorous vacuole membrane during exo-erythrocytic development of malaria parasites.

The rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei develops in hepatocytes within 48-52h from a single sporozoite into up to 20,000 daughter parasites, so-called merozoites. The cellular and molecular details of this extensive proliferation are still largely unknown. Here we have used a transgenic, RFP-expressing P.

Staphylococcus aureus fibronectin binding protein-A induces motile attachment sites and complex actin remodeling in living endothelial cells.

Staphylococcus aureus fibronectin binding protein-A (FnBPA) stimulates alpha5beta1-integrin signaling and actin rearrangements in host cells. This eventually leads to invasion of the staphylococci and their targeting to lysosomes. Using live cell imaging, we found that FnBPA-expressing staphylococci induce formation of fibrillar adhesion-like attachment sites and translocate together with them on the surface of human endothelial cells (velocity approximately 50 microm/h).

Synthesis of group A streptococcal virulence factors is controlled by a regulatory RNA molecule.

The capacity of pathogens to cause disease depends strictly on the regulated expression of their virulence factors. In this study, we demonstrate that the untranslated mRNA of the recently described streptococcal pleiotropic effect locus (pel), which incidentally contains sagA, the structural gene for streptolysin S, is an effector of virulence factor expression in group A beta-haemolytic streptococci (GAS). Our data suggest that the regulation by pel RNA occurs at both transcriptional (e.