Vázquez-Boland JA, Wagner M, Scortti
M. 2020. Why are some Listeria monocytogenes
genotypes more likely to cause invasive (brain,
placental) infection? mBio 11:e03126-20.
Vázquez-Boland JA, Wagner M, Scortti
M. 2020. Why are some Listeria monocytogenes
genotypes more likely to cause invasive (brain,
placental) infection? mBio 11:e03126-20.
Vázquez-Boland JA, Wagner M, Scortti
M. 2020. Why are some Listeria monocytogenes
genotypes more likely to cause invasive (brain,
placental) infection? mBio 11:e03126-20.
Vázquez-Boland JA, Wagner M, Scortti
M. 2020. Why are some Listeria monocytogenes
genotypes more likely to cause invasive (brain,
placental) infection? mBio 11:e03126-20.
Abstract
Although all isolates of the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes are considered to be pathogenic, epidemiological evidence indicates that certain serovar 4b lineages are more likely to cause severe invasive (neuromeningeal, maternal-fetal) listeriosis. Recently described as L. monocytogenes “hypervirulent” clones, no distinctive bacterial trait has been identified so far that could account for the differential pathogenicity of these strains. Here we discuss some preliminary observations in experimentally infected mice suggesting that serovar 4b hypervirulent strains may have a hitherto unrecognized capacity for prolonged in vivo survival. We propose the hypothesis that protracted survivability in primary infection foci in liver and spleen –first target organs after intestinal translocation– may cause L. monocytogenes serovar 4b hypervirulent clones to have a higher probability of secondary dissemination to brain and placenta.
Keywords
Listeria monocytogenes; virulence heterogeneity; hypervirulent clones; prolonged in vivo survival; invasive listeriosis
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
