Brucella regulators: self-control in a hostile environment

Brucella is an important zoonotic pathogen for which no human vaccine exists. In an infected host, Brucella resides in macrophages but must coordinate expression of multiple virulence factors for successful cell entry and trafficking to acquire this replicative niche. Brucella responds to environmen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in microbiology (Regular ed.) 2009-08, Vol.17 (8), p.371-377
Main Authors: Rambow-Larsen, Amy A, Petersen, Erik M, Gourley, Christopher R, Splitter, Gary A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacterial Proteins - biosynthesis
Brucella
Brucella - physiology
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Humans
Internal Medicine
Quorum Sensing
Signal Transduction
Virulence
Virulence Factors - biosynthesis
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Summary:Brucella is an important zoonotic pathogen for which no human vaccine exists. In an infected host, Brucella resides in macrophages but must coordinate expression of multiple virulence factors for successful cell entry and trafficking to acquire this replicative niche. Brucella responds to environmental signals to regulate virulence strategies that circumvent or blunt the host immune response. The Brucella quorum sensing system is a nexus of control for several Brucella virulence factors including flagellar genes and the type IV secretion system. Other sensory transduction systems, such as BvrRS and the newly described LOV-HK, sense environmental factors to control virulence. Here, we examine the contributions of various regulatory systems to Brucella virulence.
ISSN:0966-842X
1878-4380
DOI:10.1016/j.tim.2009.05.006