Signal transduction pathways induced by virulence factors of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

The obligate human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae infects a variety of huma n tissues. In recent years, several host cell receptors for the major bacte rial adhesins have been identified. While the knowledge of the molecular me chanism of colonisation has helped to understand special aspects of the inf ection, like the explicit tropism of gonococci for human tissues, the long- term consequences of engaging these receptors are still unknown. A variety of signalling pathways initiated by the activated receptors and by bacteria l proteins transferred to the infected cell have been defined which include lipid second messenger, protein kinases, proteases and GTPases. These path ways control important steps of the infection, such as tight adhesion and i nvasion, the induction of cytokine release, and apoptosis. The detailed kno wledge of bacteria-induced signalling pathways could allow the design of ne w therapeutic approaches which might be advantageous over the classical ant ibiotics therapy.