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Interactions of meningococcal virulence factors with endothelial cells at the human blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier and their role in pathogenicity
Author(s) -
Simonis Alexander,
SchubertUnkmeir Alexandra
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1002/1873-3468.12344
Subject(s) - neisseria meningitidis , virulence , microbiology and biotechnology , meningitis , pathogenicity , biology , cerebrospinal fluid , meningococcal meningitis , respiratory tract , immunology , neisseria , bacteria , medicine , respiratory system , gene , genetics , anatomy , neuroscience , psychiatry
The Gram‐negative extracellular bacterium Neisseria meningitidis is one of the most common aetiological agents of bacterial meningitis affecting predominantly young children worldwide. This bacterium is normally a quiescent coloniser of the upper respiratory tract, but in some individuals it enters the blood stream and causes invasive diseases, such as septicaemia and meningitis. Interactions of N. meningitidis with human endothelial cells are crucially involved in pathogencitiy, and great efforts have been made to understand these molecular interactions. The aim of this review article is to provide an overview of the interactions of meningococcal virulence factors with host endothelial cells at the blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier.