Department of Molecular Infection Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
Department of Molecular Infection Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
Microbes Infect. 2018 Oct-Nov;20(9-10):570-577. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2018.01.008. Epub 2018 Feb 1.
Growing knowledge of the complexity of the host-pathogen interactions during the course of an infection revealed an amazing variability of bacterial pathogens within the same host tissue site. This heterogeneity in bacterial populations is either the result of a different bacterial response to a slightly divergent tissue microenvironment or is caused by a genetic circuit in which small endogenous fluctuations in a small number of transcription factors drive gene expression in combination with a positive feedback loop. As a result host-pathogen encounters can have different outcomes in individual cells, which enables bet-hedging and/or a co-operative behavior that enhance bacterial fitness and virulence, drive different host responses and promote resistance of small subpopulations to antibiotic treatment. This has a strong impact on the progression and control of the infection, which must be considered for the development of successful antimicrobial therapies.
随着对感染过程中宿主-病原体相互作用复杂性的认识不断深入，人们发现同一宿主组织部位内的细菌病原体存在惊人的多样性。这种细菌种群的异质性要么是由于细菌对略有不同的组织微环境的不同反应所致，要么是由于遗传回路所致，其中少数转录因子的微小内源性波动与正反馈环相结合驱动基因表达。因此，宿主-病原体的相互作用在单个细胞中可能产生不同的结果，这使得细菌能够进行风险分散和/或合作行为，从而提高细菌的适应性和毒力，引发不同的宿主反应，并促进小亚群对抗生素治疗的耐药性。这对感染的进展和控制有重大影响，在开发成功的抗菌治疗方法时必须考虑到这一点。
