THE ACTIN-BASED MOTILITY OF THE FACULTATIVE INTRACELLULAR PATHOGEN LISTERIA-MONOCYTOGENES

The Gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative in tracellular parasite that invades and multiplies within diverse eukary otic cell types. An essential pathogenicity determinant is its ability to move in the host cell cytoplasm and to spread within tissues by di rectly passing from one cell to another. The propulsive force for intr acellular movement is thought to be generated by continuous actin asse mbly at the rear end of the bacterium. Moving bacteria that reach the plasma membrane induce the formation of long membranous protrusions th at are internalized by neighbouring cells, thus mediating the spread o f infection. The unrelated pathogens Shigella and Rickettsia use a sim ilar process of actin-based motility to disseminate in infected tissue s. This review focuses on the bacterial and cellular factors involved in the actin-based motility of L. monocytogenes.