Publications by authors named "Nicholas Carbonetti"

Interferon lambda (IFN-λ) plays diverse roles in bacterial infections. Previously we showed that IFN-λ is induced in the lungs of B. pertussis-infected adult mice and exacerbates inflammation.

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Many respiratory infections are selectively injurious to infants, yet the etiology of age-associated susceptibility is unknown. One such bacterial pathogen is Bordetella pertussis. In adult mice, innate interferon γ (IFN-γ) is produced by natural killer (NK) cells and restricts infection to the respiratory tract.

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Pertussis, caused by , is a resurgent respiratory disease but the molecular mechanisms underlying pathogenesis are poorly understood. We recently showed the importance of type I and type III interferon (IFN) induction and signaling for the development of lung inflammation in -infected mouse models. Classically, these IFNs are induced by signaling through a variety of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) on host cells.

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Type III interferon, or interferon lambda (IFNλ), was discovered 20 years ago and has been studied primarily for its role in combatting viral infections. However, it is also induced in response to certain bacterial infections but its roles and effects in this context are relatively poorly understood. In this mini review, we discuss the roles of IFNλ signaling in bacterial infections, highlighting its deleterious or protective effects for different infections.

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What causes the cough in whooping cough (pertussis) has been a longstanding question in the field but has been difficult to answer because of the perceived lack of convenient small animal models. Y. Hiramatsu, K.

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Pertussis, caused by Bordetella pertussis, is a reemerging disease that can produce severe disease manifestations in infants, including pulmonary hypertension (PH). B. pertussis-induced PH is a major risk factor for infection-induced death, but the molecular mechanisms promoting PH are unknown and there is no effective treatment.

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Whooping cough (pertussis) is a severe pulmonary infectious disease caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis infects an estimated 24 million people annually, resulting in >150,000 deaths. The NIH placed pertussis on the list of emerging pathogens in 2015.

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Whooping cough is caused by Bordetella pertussis that releases pertussis toxin (PT) which comprises enzyme A-subunit PTS1 and binding/transport B-subunit. After receptor-mediated endocytosis, PT reaches the endoplasmic reticulum from where unfolded PTS1 is transported to the cytosol. PTS1 ADP-ribosylates G-protein α-subunits resulting in increased cAMP signaling.

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To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Nobel prize being awarded to Jules Bordet, the discoverer of Bordetella pertussis, the 12th International Bordetella Symposium was held from 9 to 12 April 2019 at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, where Jules Bordet studied and was Professor of Microbiology. The symposium attracted more than 300 Bordetella experts from 34 countries. They discussed the latest epidemiologic data and clinical aspects of pertussis, Bordetella biology and pathogenesis, immunology and vaccine development, and genomics and evolution.

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Type I and III IFNs play diverse roles in bacterial infections, being protective for some but deleterious for others. Using RNA-sequencing transcriptomics we investigated lung gene expression responses to infection in adult mice, revealing that type I and III IFN pathways may play an important role in promoting inflammatory responses. In infected mice, lung type I/III IFN responses correlated with increased proinflammatory cytokine expression and with lung inflammatory pathology.

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Bordetella pertussis produces several toxins that affect host-pathogen interactions. Of these, the major toxins that contribute to pertussis infection and disease are pertussis toxin, adenylate cyclase toxin-hemolysin and tracheal cytotoxin. Pertussis toxin is a multi-subunit protein toxin that inhibits host G protein-coupled receptor signaling, causing a wide array of effects on the host.

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Pertussis, caused by respiratory tract infection with the bacterial pathogen , has long been considered to be a toxin-mediated disease. Bacteria adhere and multiply extracellularly in the airways and release several toxins, which have a variety of effects on the host, both local and systemic. Predominant among these toxins is pertussis toxin (PT), a multi-subunit protein toxin that inhibits signaling through a subset of G protein-coupled receptors in mammalian cells.

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Incidence of whooping cough (pertussis), a bacterial infection of the respiratory tract caused by the bacterium , has reached levels not seen since the 1950s. Antibiotics fail to improve the course of disease unless administered early in infection. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of antipertussis therapeutics.

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In infants, can cause severe disease, manifested as pronounced leukocytosis, pulmonary hypertension, and even death. The exact cause of death remains unknown, and no effective therapies for treating fulminant pertussis exist. In this study, a neonatal mouse model of critical pertussis is characterized, and a central role for pertussis toxin (PT) is described.

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Recent data have demonstrated the potential of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor (S1PR) agonism in the treatment of infectious diseases. A previous study used a murine model of Bordetella pertussis infection to demonstrate that treatment with the S1PR agonist AAL-R reduces pulmonary inflammation during infection. In the current study, we showed that this effect is mediated via the S1PR1 on LysM+ (myeloid) cells.

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Pertussis is a severe respiratory disease caused by infection with the bacterial pathogen Bordetella pertussis The disease affects individuals of all ages but is particularly severe and sometimes fatal in unvaccinated young infants. Other Bordetella species cause diseases in humans, animals, and birds. Scientific, clinical, public health, vaccine company, and regulatory agency experts on these pathogens and diseases gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 5 to 8 April 2016 for the 11th International Bordetella Symposium to discuss recent advances in our understanding of the biology of these organisms, the diseases they cause, and the development of new vaccines and other strategies to prevent these diseases.

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The significant and sometimes dramatic rise in the number of circulating white blood cells (leukocytosis) in infants suffering from pertussis (whooping cough) has been recognized for over a century. Although pertussis is a disease that afflicts people of all ages, it can be particularly severe in young infants, and these are the individuals in whom leukocytosis is most pronounced. Very high levels of leukocytosis are associated with poor outcome in infants hospitalized with pertussis and modern treatments are often aimed at reducing the number of leukocytes.

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Rickettsial agents are sensed by pattern recognition receptors but lack pathogen-associated molecular patterns commonly observed in facultative intracellular bacteria. Due to these molecular features, the order Rickettsiales can be used to uncover broader principles of bacterial immunity. Here, we used the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, to reveal a novel microbial surveillance system.

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The active subunit (S1) of pertussis toxin (PT), a major virulence factor of Bordetella pertussis, ADP-ribosylates Gi proteins in the mammalian cell cytosol to inhibit GPCR signaling. The intracellular pathway of PT includes endocytosis and retrograde transport to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Subsequent translocation of S1 to the cytosol is presumably preceded by dissociation from the holotoxin.

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Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review is to summarize and discuss recent findings and selected topics of interest in Bordetella pertussis virulence and pathogenesis and treatment of pertussis. It is not intended to cover issues on immune responses to B. pertussis infection or problems with currently used pertussis vaccines.

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Background: Bordetella pertussis colonizes the human respiratory mucosa. Most studies on B. pertussis adherence have relied on cultured mammalian cells that lack key features present in differentiated human airway cells or on animal models that are not natural hosts of B.

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Whooping cough, or pertussis, incidence has reached levels not seen since the 1950s. Previous studies have shown that antibiotics fail to improve the course of disease unless diagnosed early. Early diagnosis is complicated by the non-diagnostic presentation of disease early in infection.

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Pertussis toxin (PT) is a multisubunit protein toxin secreted by Bordetella pertussis, the bacterial agent of the disease pertussis or whooping cough. PT in detoxified form is a component of all licensed acellular pertussis vaccines, since it is considered to be an important virulence factor for this pathogen. PT inhibits G protein-coupled receptor signaling through Gi proteins in mammalian cells, an activity that has led to its widespread use as a cell biology tool.

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