Interactions of Bartonella henselae with vascular endothelial cells

The emerging human pathogen Bartonella henselae has the remarkable capacity to colonise vascular tissues and to stimulate vasoproliferative tumour gro wth. Although the molecular principle of bacterium-induced neovascularisati on (angiogenesis) is still unclear, recent studies have indicated a novel m echanism of endothelial colonisation that involves the formation, engulfmen t and uptake of a large bacterial aggregate.