Heesemann J
Institut für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie der Universität Würzburg.
Immun Infekt. 1990 Dec;18(6):186-91.
A limited number of serotypes of Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis is enteropathogenic for humans. During the last decade molecular biology contributed significantly to the understanding of the pathogenicity of these enteric agents. All human pathogenic Yersiniae harbour a 70-kilobase plasmid which is essential for virulence expression. Presently, thirteen plasmid-encoded polypeptides have been identified. Two of them have been identified as true outer membrane proteins and at least ten are secreted into the culture medium. Plasmid-mediated pathogenic functions are survival in serum, resistance to phagocytosis, cell adhesion, and cytotoxicity. As chromosomal determinants two invasions, one heat-stable enterotoxin and one iron-utilization system have been identified. The contribution of the iron-uptake system to mouse lethality has been clearly demonstrated. The plasmid-encoded proteins have been turned out to be more suitable antigens for serologic diagnosis of yersiniosis (immunoblotting and indirect immunofluorescence) than whole bacterial antigens.
小肠结肠炎耶尔森菌和假结核耶尔森菌中仅有少数血清型对人类具有致病性。在过去十年中，分子生物学对理解这些肠道病原体的致病性做出了重大贡献。所有人类致病性耶尔森菌都携带一个70千碱基的质粒，该质粒对毒力表达至关重要。目前，已鉴定出13种质粒编码的多肽。其中两种已被鉴定为真正的外膜蛋白，至少有十种分泌到培养基中。质粒介导的致病功能包括在血清中存活、抗吞噬作用、细胞黏附以及细胞毒性。作为染色体决定因素，已鉴定出两种侵袭因子、一种热稳定肠毒素和一种铁利用系统。铁摄取系统对小鼠致死率的作用已得到明确证实。事实证明，与全细菌抗原相比，质粒编码的蛋白质更适合作为耶尔森菌病血清学诊断（免疫印迹和间接免疫荧光）的抗原。
