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Complement evasion by the human respiratory tract pathogens Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis
Author(s) -
Riesbeck Kristian
Publication year - 2020
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 - 10.1002/1873-3468.13758
Subject(s) - moraxella catarrhalis , haemophilus influenzae , microbiology and biotechnology , moraxella (branhamella) catarrhalis , complement system , biology , innate immune system , alternative complement pathway , bacterial adhesin , immunology , classical complement pathway , bacterial outer membrane , neisseria , immune system , bacteria , virulence , gene , biochemistry , escherichia coli , antibiotics , genetics
All infective bacterial species need to conquer the innate immune system in order to colonize and survive in their hosts. The human respiratory pathogens Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis are no exceptions and have developed sophisticated mechanisms to evade complement‐mediated killing. Both bacterial species carry lipooligosaccharides preventing complement attacks and attract and utilize host complement regulators C4b binding protein and factor H to inhibit the classical and alternative pathways of complement activation, respectively. In addition, the regulator of the terminal pathway of complement activation, vitronectin, is hijacked by both bacteria. An array of different outer membrane proteins (OMP) in H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis simultaneously binds complement regulators, but also plasminogen. Several of the bacterial complement‐binding proteins are important adhesins and contain highly conserved regions for interactions with the host. Thus, some of the OMP are viable targets for new therapeutics, including vaccines aimed at preventing respiratory tract diseases such as otitis media in children and exacerbations in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.