Wieland Hagen, Hechtel Nicole, Faigle Marion, Neumeister Birgid
Department of Livestock Biotechnology, WZW TU Munich, Freising, Germany.
FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2006 Jul;47(2):296-301. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-695X.2006.00092.x.
The infectious agent of Legionnaires' disease, Legionella pneumophila, multiplies intracellularly in a variety of eukaryotic cells. Genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been shown to block intracellular replication of L. pneumophila without harming the infected host cell. The present study has been performed to investigate the underlying mechanism. We demonstrate that inhibition of intracellular bacterial growth by genistein is not mediated by its protein tyrosine kinase-modulating effect but by inhibition of L-type calcium channels of the infected host cell.
