MOLECULAR SIGNALING FOR THE ENTRY OF ENTE ROPATHOGENIC BACTERIA IN EPITHELIAL-CELLS

Enteropathogenic bacteria belonging to the genus Shigella, Salmonella, and Yersinia share a common capacity to cross the intestinal barrier. In in vitro models using epithelial cells grown in tissue culture dis h, these bacteria induce major structural modifications of cells and a re all capable of diverting cytoskeletal functions to the benefit of t heir entry. However, despite obvious phenotypical analogies that are r eflected in the numerous homologies existing among the genes involved in cellular invasion, differences in strategies also exist which are r eflected in the physiopathological diversity of infections caused by t hese pathogens. For each of them, the state of the art in our knowledg e of the molecular and cellular bases of the host-pathogen relationshi p is presented.