Role of immune response in Yersinia pestis infection

Abstract

Yersinia pestis (Y. Pestis) is an infamous pathogen causing plague pandemics throughout history and is a selected agent of bioterrorism threatening public health. Y. pestis was first isolated by Alexandre Yersin in 1894 in Hong Kong and in the following years from all continents. Plague is enzootic in different rodents and their fleas in Africa, North and South America, and Asia, including the Middle/Far East and ex-USSR countries. Comprehending the multifaceted interaction between Y. pestis and the host immune system will enable us to design more effective vaccines. Innate immune response and both components (humoral and cellular) of adaptive immune response contribute to host defense against Y. pestis infection, but the bacterium possesses different mechanisms to counteract the immune response. The review aims to analyze the role of immune response versus Yersinia pestis infection and to highlight the various stratagems adopted by Y. pestis to escape the immunological defenses.

Type III Secretion Needle Proteins Induce Cell Signaling and Cytokine Secretion via Toll-Like Receptors

“…Interestingly, the T3S systems used in this study utilize T3S in three different manners: anti-inflammatory (YscF), proinflammatory (PrgI and MxiH), and intravacuolar (SsaG). YscF comes from a T3S system from pathogens that have anti-inflammatory infection objectives (25). YscF elicited lower levels of NF-B/AP-1 activation from THP-1 cells and induced modestly lower levels of TNF-␣, IL-6, and IL-8 than those with PrgI or SsaG.…”

A Type III Secretion System Inhibitor Targets YopD while Revealing Differential Regulation of Secretion in Calcium-Blind Mutants of Yersinia pestis

“…LcrV creates a base on the tip of the YscF proteins that make up the needle (14) and functions to help insert the hydrophobic translocator proteins, YopB and YopD, into the host membrane (13). Effector proteins in Y. pestis are collectively referred to as Yops (Yersinia outer proteins) and mediate an overall repression of the host immune system's response to the bacteria (15).…”

Rodents as Potential Couriers for Bioterrorism Agents

“…28 Moreover, antibioticresistant Y. pestis strains are known to exist, and, in aerosolized form, it would be a formidable weapon. 32 Plague still occurs naturally in several locations in the world, so it is a relatively easy agent to obtain. It can also be easily disseminated into wild rodent populations in both urban and rural areas.…”