SecA2 Associates with Translating Ribosomes and Contributes to the Secretion of Potent IFN-β Inducing RNAs.

Protein secretion plays a central role in modulating interactions of the human pathogen with its environment. Recently, secretion of RNA has emerged as an important strategy used by the pathogen to manipulate the host cell response to its advantage. In general, the Sec-dependent translocation pathway is a major route for protein secretion in , but mechanistic insights into the secretion of RNA by these pathways are lacking.

Dual Role of Hydrogen Peroxide as an Oxidant in Pneumococcal Pneumonia.

(), a facultative anaerobic Gram-positive human pathogen with increasing rates of penicillin and macrolide resistance, is a major cause of lower respiratory tract infections worldwide. Pneumococci are a primary agent of severe pneumonia in children younger than 5 years and of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. A major defense mechanism toward is the generation of reactive oxygen species, including hydrogen peroxide (HO), during the oxidative burst of neutrophils and macrophages.

Phosphocholine Antagonizes Listeriolysin O-Induced Host Cell Responses of Listeria monocytogenes.

Background: Bacterial toxins disrupt plasma membrane integrity with multitudinous effects on host cells. The secreted pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O (LLO) of the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes promotes egress of the bacteria from vacuolar compartments into the host cytosol often without overt destruction of the infected cell. Intracellular LLO activity is tightly controlled by host factors including compartmental pH, redox, proteolytic, and proteostatic factors, and inhibited by cholesterol.

The secRNome of Listeria monocytogenes Harbors Small Noncoding RNAs That Are Potent Inducers of Beta Interferon.

Cellular sensing of bacterial RNA is increasingly recognized as a determinant of host-pathogen interactions. The intracellular pathogen induces high levels of type I interferons (alpha/beta interferons [IFN-α/β]) to create a growth-permissive microenvironment during infection. We previously demonstrated that RNAs secreted by (comprising the secRNome) are potent inducers of IFN-β.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs)-based Dual Vaccine for Influenza A H1N1 Virus and MERS-CoV.

Vaccination is the most functional medical intervention to prophylactically control severe diseases caused by human-to-human or animal-to-human transmissible viral pathogens. Annually, seasonal influenza epidemics attack human populations leading to 290-650 thousand deaths/year worldwide. Recently, a novel Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus emerged.

Listeriolysin O Regulates the Expression of Optineurin, an Autophagy Adaptor That Inhibits the Growth of Listeria monocytogenes.

Autophagy, a well-established defense mechanism, enables the elimination of intracellular pathogens including . Host cell recognition results in ubiquitination of . and interaction with autophagy adaptors p62/SQSTM1 and NDP52, which target bacteria to autophagosomes by binding to microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3).

The octahaem MccA is a haem c-copper sulfite reductase.

The six-electron reduction of sulfite to sulfide is the pivot point of the biogeochemical cycle of the element sulfur. The octahaem cytochrome c MccA (also known as SirA) catalyses this reaction for dissimilatory sulfite utilization by various bacteria. It is distinct from known sulfite reductases because it has a substantially higher catalytic activity and a relatively low reactivity towards nitrite.