Microbial Pathogenesis Unit, Centres for Infectious Diseases and Immunity, Infection & Evolution, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2011 Apr;14(2):118-27. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2011.01.005. Epub 2011 Mar 8.
Listeria monocytogenes is the causative agent of listeriosis, a severe foodborne infection. These bacteria live as soil saprotrophs on decaying plant matter but also as intracellular parasites, using the cell cytosol as a replication niche. PrfA, a regulatory protein, integrates a number of environmental cues that signal the transition between these two contrasting lifestyles, activating a set of key virulence factors during host infection. While a number of details concerning the general mode of action of this virulence master switch have been elucidated, others remain unsolved. Recent work has revealed additional mechanisms that contribute to L. monocytogenes virulence modulation, often via cross-talk with PrfA, or by regulating new genes involved in host colonization.
李斯特菌是李斯特菌病的病原体，这是一种严重的食源性感染。这些细菌作为土壤腐生菌生活在腐烂的植物物质上，但也作为细胞内寄生虫，利用细胞胞质溶胶作为复制小生境。PrfA 是一种调节蛋白，整合了许多环境信号，这些信号标志着从这两种截然不同的生活方式向另一种生活方式的转变，在宿主感染期间激活了一组关键的毒力因子。虽然已经阐明了这个毒力主开关的一般作用模式的许多细节，但其他细节仍未解决。最近的研究揭示了有助于李斯特菌毒力调节的其他机制，这些机制通常通过与 PrfA 的交叉对话，或通过调节参与宿主定植的新基因来实现。
