Table of Contents

Volume 3, Issue 4

  July 1, 2012

  Pages 349 - 419

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 Issue Catalogue (MARC XML)

EDITOR'S CORNER

Targeting the bacterial-host interaction: Leveling the playing field

Deane Mosher
Pages 349 - 350
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.21269
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REVIEWS

Open Access Article

The encephalomyocarditis virus

Margot Carocci and Labib Bakkali-Kassimi
Pages 351 - 367
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20573
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

The encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) is a small non-enveloped single-strand RNA virus, the causative agent of not only myocarditis and encephalitis, but also neurological diseases, reproductive disorders and diabetes in many mammalian species. EMCV pathogenesis appears to be viral strain- and host-specific, and a better understanding of EMCV virulence factors is increasingly required. Indeed, EMCV is often used as a model for diabetes and viral myocarditis, and is also widely used in immunology as a double-stranded RNA stimulus in the study of Toll-like as well as cytosolic receptors. However, EMCV virulence and properties have often been neglected. Moreover, EMCV is able to infect humans albeit with a low morbidity. Progress on xenografts, such as pig heart transplantation in humans, has raised safety concerns that need to be explored. In this review we will highlight the biology of EMCV and all known and potential virulence factors.

Open Access Article

The potential impact of antifungal drug resistance mechanisms on the host immune response to Candida

Russell E. Lewis, Pierluigi Viale and Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis
Pages 368 - 376
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20746
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

A large number of studies have been published over the last two decades examining molecular mechanisms of antifungal resistance in Candida species. However, few of these studies have explored how such mechanisms influence the host immune response to this opportunistic pathogen. With recent advances in our understanding of host immunity to Candida, a body of emerging literature has begun to explore how intrinsic and adaptive resistance mechanisms in Candida alter host immune system evasion and detection, which could have important implications for understanding (1) why certain resistance mechanisms and Candida species predominate in certain patient populations, (2) the biological context for understanding why high in vitro levels of resistance in may not necessarily correlate with risk of drug failure in vivo and (3) insight into effective immunotherapeutic strategies for combatting Candida resistance. Although this area of research is still in its infancy, two themes are emerging: First, the immunoevasion and intracellular persistence of C. glabrata may be a key factor in the capability of this species to persist in the course of multiple antifungal treatments and develop multidrug resistance. Second, changes in the cell wall associated with antifungal resistance often favor evasion for the host immune response.

Open Access Article

Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Typhi as model organisms: Revealing paradigm of host-pathogen interactions

Preeti Garai, Divya Prakash Gnanadhas and Dipshikha Chakravortty
Pages 377 - 388
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.21087
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

The lifestyle of intracellular pathogens has always questioned the skill of a microbiologist in the context of finding the permanent cure to the diseases caused by them. The best tool utilized by these pathogens is their ability to reside inside the host cell, which enables them to easily bypass the humoral immunity of the host, such as the complement system. They further escape from the intracellular immunity, such as lysosome and inflammasome, mostly by forming a protective vacuole-bound niche derived from the host itself. Some of the most dreadful diseases are caused by these vacuolar pathogens, for example, tuberculosis by Mycobacterium or typhoid fever by Salmonella. To deal with such successful pathogens therapeutically, the knowledge of a host-pathogen interaction system becomes primarily essential, which further depends on the use of a model system. A well characterized pathogen, namely Salmonella, suits the role of a model for this purpose, which can infect a wide array of hosts causing a variety of diseases. This review focuses on various such aspects of research on Salmonella which are useful for studying the pathogenesis of other intracellular pathogens.




RESEARCH PAPER

Open Access Article

In vitro characterization of multivalent adhesion molecule 7-based inhibition of multidrug-resistant bacteria isolated from wounded military personnel

Anne Marie Krachler, Katrin Mende, Clinton Murray and Kim Orth
Pages 389 - 399
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20816
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

Treatment of wounded military personnel at military medical centers is often complicated by colonization and infection of wounds with pathogenic bacteria. These include nosocomially transmitted, often multidrug-resistant pathogens such as Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. We analyzed the efficacy of multivalent adhesion molecule (MAM) 7-based anti-adhesion treatment of host cells against aforementioned pathogens in a tissue culture infection model. Herein, we observed that a correlation between two important hallmarks of virulence, attachment and cytotoxicity, could serve as a useful predictor for the success of MAM7-based inhibition against bacterial infections. Initially, we characterized 20 patient isolates (five from each pathogen mentioned above) in terms of genotypic diversity, antimicrobial susceptibility and important hallmarks of pathogenicity (biofilm formation, attachment to and cytotoxicity toward cultured host cells). All isolates displayed a high degree of genotypic diversity, which was also reflected by large strain-to-strain variability in terms of biofilm formation, attachment and cytotoxicity within each group of pathogen. Using non-pathogenic bacteria expressing MAM7 or latex beads coated with recombinant MAM7 for anti-adhesion treatment, we showed a decrease in cytotoxicity, indicating that MAM7 has potential as a prophylactic agent to attenuate infection by multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens.




PERSPECTIVE

Uncovering cellular circuitry controlling temperature-dependent fungal morphogenesis

Rebecca S. Shapiro and Leah E. Cowen
Pages 400 - 404
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20979
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

Temperature change is a ubiquitous environmental signal, which exerts powerful control over the development and virulence of microbial pathogens. For Candida albicans, the leading fungal pathogen of humans, temperature influences mating, phenotypic switching, resistance to antifungal drugs and the morphogenetic transition from yeast to filamentous growth. C. albicans morphogenesis is profoundly influenced by temperature, and most filament-inducing cues depend on a concurrent increase in temperature to 37°C before morphogenesis can occur, although the molecular mechanisms underpinning this temperature-dependent developmental transition remain largely unknown. We established that the thermally responsive molecular chaperone Hsp90 orchestrates temperature-dependent morphogenesis, via previously uncharacterized cellular circuitry, comprised of the cyclin-dependent kinase Pho85, the cyclin Pcl1 and the transcriptional regulator Hms1. Here we elaborate on Hsp90's pleiotropic effects on temperature-dependent morphogenetic circuitry, and highlight how changes in protein form and function in response to stress complements the diverse repertoire of mechanisms of microbial temperature sensing.




NEWS AND VIEWS

Open Access Article

Is nectin-1 the “master” receptor for deadly herpes B virus infection?

Qing Fan and Richard Longnecker
Page 405
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20587
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Open Access Article

Architecturally the same, but playing a different game: The diverse species-specific roles of DivIVA proteins

Karan Gautam Kaval and Sven Halbedel
Pages 406 - 407
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20747
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Open Access Article

Long range transcriptional control of virulence critical genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by nucleoid-associated proteins?

Roger S. Buxton, Jeffrey Green, Debbie M. Hunt, Christina Kahramanoglou, Melanie R. Stapleton and Nathan P. Sweeney
Pages 408 - 410
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20918
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Open Access Article

Influenza A viruses and PI3K: Are there time, place and manner restrictions?

Juan Ayllon, Adolfo García-Sastre and Benjamin G. Hale
Pages 411 - 414
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20932
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Open Access Article

Using host molecules to increase fungal virulence for biological control of insects

Nemat O. Keyhani
Pages 415 - 417
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20956
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Open Access Article

Can high-pathogenic avian influenza viruses with novel hemagglutinin serotypes other than H5 or H7 emerge?

Jürgen Stech and Thomas C. Mettenleiter
Pages 418 - 419
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/viru.20974
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