Abstract
The plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Plague bacteria are thought to inject effector Yop proteins into host cells via the type III pathway. The identity of the host cells targeted for injection during plague infection is unknown. We found, using Yop beta-lactamase hybrids and fluorescent staining of live cells from plague-infected animals, that Y. pestis selected immune cells for injection. In vivo, dendritic cells, macrophages, and neutrophils were injected most frequently, whereas B and T lymphocytes were rarely selected. Thus, it appears that Y. pestis disables these cell populations to annihilate host immune responses during plague.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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B-Lymphocytes / immunology
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B-Lymphocytes / metabolism
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B-Lymphocytes / microbiology
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Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / genetics
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Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / metabolism*
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Dendritic Cells / immunology
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Dendritic Cells / metabolism
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Dendritic Cells / microbiology*
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Flow Cytometry
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Fluorescence
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HeLa Cells
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Humans
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Macrophages / immunology
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Macrophages / metabolism
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Macrophages / microbiology*
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Macrophages, Peritoneal / microbiology
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Mice
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Mice, Inbred BALB C
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Microscopy, Fluorescence
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Neutrophils / immunology
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Neutrophils / metabolism
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Neutrophils / microbiology*
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Plague / immunology
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Plague / microbiology*
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Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
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T-Lymphocytes / immunology
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T-Lymphocytes / metabolism
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T-Lymphocytes / microbiology
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Transformation, Bacterial
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Yersinia pestis / metabolism
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Yersinia pestis / pathogenicity*
Substances
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Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
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Recombinant Fusion Proteins
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yopE protein, Yersinia
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yopM protein, Yersinia