Advancements in understanding the molecular and immune mechanisms of Bartonella pathogenicity

Xiaoxia Jin; Yuze Gou; Yuxian Xin; Jingwei Li; Jingrong Sun; Tingting Li; Jie Feng

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1196700

Advancements in understanding the molecular and immune mechanisms of Bartonella pathogenicity

Front Microbiol. 2023 Jun 9:14:1196700. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1196700. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xiaoxia Jin^#¹, Yuze Gou^#², Yuxian Xin², Jingwei Li¹, Jingrong Sun², Tingting Li¹, Jie Feng^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Clinical Translation and Lanzhou Center for Tuberculosis Research, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
² Key Laboratory of Preclinical Study for New Drugs of Gansu Province, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Bartonellae are considered to be emerging opportunistic pathogens. The bacteria are transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods, and their hosts are a wide range of mammals including humans. After a protective barrier breach in mammals, Bartonella colonizes endothelial cells (ECs), enters the bloodstream, and infects erythrocytes. Current research primarily focuses on investigating the interaction between Bartonella and ECs and erythrocytes, with recent attention also paid to immune-related aspects. Various molecules related to Bartonella's pathogenicity have been identified. The present review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the newly described molecular and immune responses associated with Bartonella's pathogenicity.

Keywords: Bartonella; antibody; blood-sucking arthropods; endothelial cells; erythrocytes; immune escape.

Publication types

Review