Pron B, Taha M K, Rambaud C, Fournet J C, Pattey N, Monnet J P, Musilek M, Beretti J L, Nassif X
INSERM U411, Faculté de Médecine Necker-Enfants Malades and Département Universitaire de Médecine Légale, Université René Descartes, Paris, France.
J Infect Dis. 1997 Nov;176(5):1285-92. doi: 10.1086/514124.
A fatal untreated case of fulminant meningococcemia was examined to investigate the crossing of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by Neisseria meningitidis. Microscopic examination showed bacteria in vivo adhering to the endothelium of both the choroid plexus and the meninges. Comparison of the isolates cultivated from the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) revealed no antigenic variation of the pilin or the class 5 protein, whereas the expression of the PilC protein was greater in the CSF and the choroid plexus than in the blood. This was due to an increased activity of one of the pilC promotors. This higher expression of PilC correlated in vitro with greater adhesiveness to endothelial cells. A mutation in the single pilC locus of this strain abolished in vitro pilus-mediated adhesion to endothelial cells. These data suggest that PilC plays an important role in the crossing of the BBB, likely through pilus-mediated adhesion.
对一例未经治疗的暴发性脑膜炎球菌血症致死病例进行了检查，以研究脑膜炎奈瑟菌穿越血脑屏障（BBB）的情况。显微镜检查显示，体内细菌附着于脉络丛和脑膜的内皮细胞。对从血液和脑脊液（CSF）中培养的分离株进行比较，发现菌毛蛋白或5类蛋白无抗原变异，而PilC蛋白在脑脊液和脉络丛中的表达高于血液。这是由于其中一个pilC启动子的活性增加。PilC的这种较高表达在体外与对内皮细胞的更强粘附性相关。该菌株单个pilC位点的突变消除了体外菌毛介导的对内皮细胞的粘附。这些数据表明，PilC可能通过菌毛介导的粘附在穿越血脑屏障中起重要作用。
