The invasion-associated type-III protein secretion system in Salmonella--a review.

The genetic determinants that confer upon Salmonella the ability to enter non-phagocytic cells are largely encoded in a pathogenicity island located at centisome 63 of the bacterial chromosome. Molecular genetic analysis has revealed that this region encodes a specialized protein secretion system that mediates the export and/or translocation of putative signaling proteins into the host cell. This protein secretion system, which has been termed type III or contact-dependent, has also been identified in other plant and animal pathogens that have, in common, the ability to interact with eukaryotic host cells in an intimate manner.