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Silencing the alarm: insights into the interaction between host and pathogen
Author(s) -
Lenz Laurel L,
AndrewsPolymenis Helene L
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.1038/sj.embor.7401127
Subject(s) - gene silencing , host (biology) , pathogen , biology , genetics , computational biology , gene
Figure 1. The diverse outcomes of host–microbe interactions. Bacteria, viruses, fungi and eukaryotic parasites occupy various niches within the host. The figure shows some of the interactions discussed in the text that contribute to colonization, disease and the resolution of infections. During colonization of mucosal tissues by commensal organisms (left), immune quiescence is actively maintained by both host and microbial factors. Conversely, the host immune system is activated during invasive infections (centre), although pathogenic microbes attempt to suppress immune activation. Some non‐lethal invasive infections are resolved by the elimination of the infectious agent through (often adaptive) immune responses (centre right). Alternatively, some microbes can deflect the immune response through immune suppression or activation, enabling them to establish chronic infections (right). B, B cell; CXC, CXC chemokines; DC, dendritic cell; γHSV68, γ‐herpes simplex virus 68; IFNγ, interferon‐γ; IL, interleukin; Mo, macrophage; PMN, polymorphonuclear cell or neutrophil; T, T cell; TGFβ, transforming growth factor‐β.This FASEB summer conference on Microbial Pathogenesis: Mechanisms of Infectious Disease took place between 21 and 26 July 2007 in Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA, and was chaired by B. Cookson and vice‐chaired by M. Swanson.The biannual conference on Microbial Pathogenesis: Mechanisms of Infectious Disease, held between 21 and 26 July 2007, in Aspen, Colorado, USA, was a terrific venue for scientific interaction on topics covering diverse microbial species and the complex interactions with their hosts (Fig 1). It was clear from this meeting that the explosion of data and new techniques available in the genomic era is revolutionizing the study of host–pathogen interactions. Small interfering RNA (siRNA), the development of libraries of targeted deletions, and tools for using large amounts of gene expression data to assign function to hypothetical genes were featured in numerous talks. The use of such methodologies has added a new element to discoveries about the …