Host-pathogen interactions: the attributes of virulence.

Virulence is one of a number of possible outcomes of host-microbe interaction. As such, microbial virulence is dependent on host factors, as exemplified by the pathogenicity of avirulent microbes in immunocompromised hosts and the lack of pathogenicity of virulent pathogens in immune hosts. Pathogen-centered views of virulence assert that pathogens are distinguished from nonpathogens by their expression of virulence factors. Although this concept appears to apply to certain microbes that cause disease in normal hosts, it does not apply to most microbes that cause disease primarily in immunocompromised hosts. The study of virulence is fraught with the paradox that virulence, despite being a microbial characteristic, can only be expressed in a susceptible host. Thus, the question "What is a pathogen?" begs the question, "What is the outcome of the host-microbe interaction?" We propose that host damage provides a common denominator that translates into the different outcomes of host-microbe interaction.

[1]  C. Nombela,et al.  Virulence genes in the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. , 2001, FEMS microbiology reviews.

[2]  S. Falkow,et al.  Genomic clues for defining bacterial pathogenicity. , 1999, Microbes and infection.

[3]  S Falkow,et al.  Molecular Koch's postulates applied to microbial pathogenicity. , 1988, Reviews of infectious diseases.

[4]  D. Macdonald,et al.  Parasite-altered behaviour: is the effect of Toxoplasma gondii on Rattus norvegicus specific? , 1995, Parasitology.

[5]  E. E. Ecker,et al.  The Principles of Immunology , 2009 .

[6]  M. Swanson,et al.  Legionella pneumophila pathogesesis: a fateful journey from amoebae to macrophages. , 2000, Annual review of microbiology.

[7]  H. Zinsser,et al.  Infection and resistance , 1914 .

[8]  J. Perfect.  Fungal virulence genes as targets for antifungal chemotherapy , 1996, Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy.

[9]  P. Aisen,et al.  Microbial glycolipids: possible virulence factors that scavenge oxygen radicals. , 1989, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10]  Arturo Casadevall,et al.  Host-Pathogen Interactions: Redefining the Basic Concepts of Virulence and Pathogenicity , 1999, Infection and Immunity.

[11]  R. Vance,et al.  Cutting Edge Commentary: A Copernican Revolution? Doubts About the Danger Theory1 , 2000, The Journal of Immunology.

[12]  E. Harvill,et al.  Manipulating the host to study bacterial virulence. , 2000, Current opinion in microbiology.

[13]  H J Alter,et al.  The outcome of acute hepatitis C predicted by the evolution of the viral quasispecies. , 2000, Science.

[14]  Arturo Casadevall,et al.  Host-Pathogen Interactions: Basic Concepts of Microbial Commensalism, Colonization, Infection, and Disease , 2000, Infection and Immunity.

[15]  W. Bean.  The Story Behind the Word. , 1959 .

[16]  D. Holden,et al.  Identification and analysis of bacterial virulence genes in vivo. , 2000, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[17]  J Hacker,et al.  Pathogenicity islands of virulent bacteria: structure, function and impact on microbial evolution , 1997, Molecular microbiology.

[18]  M. Parker,et al.  Topley and Wilson's principles of bacteriology, virology and immunity. Seventh edition. Vol. 1. General microbiology and immunity. Vol. 2. Systematic bacteriology. , 1983 .

[19]  Paul H. Harvey,et al.  The evolution of virulence , 1993, Nature.

[20]  Samuel I. Miller,et al.  Bacteriophages in the evolution of pathogen-host interactions. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[21]  P. Matzinger.  Tolerance, danger, and the extended family. , 1994, Annual review of immunology.

[22]  T. Kipps,et al.  Immunoglobulin VH3 gene products: natural ligands for HIV gp120. , 1993, Science.

[23]  I. Ginsburg,et al.  Can we learn from the pathogenetic strategies of group A hemolytic streptococci how tissues are injured and organs fail in post-infectious and inflammatory sequelae? , 1999, FEMS immunology and medical microbiology.

[24]  M. Diehn,et al.  Comparing functional genomic datasets: lessons from DNA microarray analyses of host-pathogen interactions. , 2001, Current opinion in microbiology.

[25]  A. Feeney,et al.  A defective Vkappa A2 allele in Navajos which may play a role in increased susceptibility to haemophilus influenzae type b disease. , 1996, The Journal of clinical investigation.

[26]  M. Lipsitch,et al.  Virulence and transmissibility of pathogens: what is the relationship? , 1997, Trends in microbiology.

[27]  P. Matzinger,et al.  An innate sense of danger. , 1998, Seminars in immunology.

[28]  Identifying Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence determinants - new technologies for a difficult problem. , 2000, Trends in microbiology.

[29]  C. Combes,et al.  The concept of virulence: interpretations and implications. , 1999, Parasitology today.

[30]  L. Pirofski,et al.  A pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide vaccine induces a repertoire shift with increased VH3 expression in peripheral B cells from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-uninfected but not HIV-infected persons. , 2000, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[31]  J. Cutler,et al.  Putative virulence factors of Candida albicans. , 1991, Annual review of microbiology.

[32]  K. Kwon-Chung,et al.  Complementation of a capsule-deficient mutation of Cryptococcus neoformans restores its virulence , 1994, Molecular and cellular biology.

[33]  I. S. Falk,et al.  The newer knowledge of bacteriology and immunology , 1928 .

[34]  C. Salkowski,et al.  Susceptibility of congenitally immunodeficient mice to a nonencapsulated strain of Cryptococcus neoformans. , 1991, Canadian journal of microbiology.

[35]  B. R. Levin,et al.  The evolution and maintenance of virulence in microparasites. , 1996, Emerging infectious diseases.

[36]  I. D. Manger,et al.  How the host 'sees' pathogens: global gene expression responses to infection. , 2000, Current opinion in immunology.

[37]  L. Pirofski,et al.  Quantitative and qualitative differences in the serum antibody profiles of human immunodeficiency virus-infected persons with and without Cryptococcus neoformans meningitis. , 1999, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[38]  H. Isenberg,et al.  Pathogenicity and virulence: another view , 1988, Clinical Microbiology Reviews.

[39]  R. Fekety.  Host-Parasite Relationships and the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases , 1982 .

[40]  C. Tang,et al.  Pathogen virulence genes--implications for vaccines and drug therapy. , 1999, British medical bulletin.

[41]  Miller Cp.  EXPERIMENTAL MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION IN MICE. , 1933 .

[42]  W. B. Saunders,et al.  Textbook of Bacteriology , 1950, The Indian Medical Gazette.

[43]  N. Gow,et al.  Survival in experimental Candida albicans infections depends on inoculum growth conditions as well as animal host. , 2000, Microbiology.

[44]  C. Janeway,et al.  Immunological tolerance: Danger – pathogen on the premises! , 1996, Current Biology.

[45]  J. Koella,et al.  The effect of Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis infection on the feeding persistence of Anopheles stephensi Liston throughout the sporogonic cycle , 1999, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[46]  R. Jefferis,et al.  Effects of HIV infection on VH3 (D12 idiotope) B cells in vivo. , 1994, Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes.

[47]  P. Y. Paterson,et al.  The Biologic and Clinical Basis of Infectious Diseases , 1975 .

[48]  E. Unanue,et al.  A mAb recognizing a surface antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis enhances host survival. , 1998, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[49]  J. Becker,et al.  Attenuated virulence of chitin-deficient mutants of Candida albicans. , 1995, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[50]  A. Casadevall,et al.  Effect of serum IgG1 to Cryptococcus neoformans glucuronoxylomannan on murine pulmonary infection. , 1997, Journal of immunology.

[51]  C. P. Miller.  EXPERIMENTAL MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION IN MICE. , 1933, Science.

[52]  T. Schwan,et al.  Role of the Yersinia pestis Hemin Storage (hms) Locus in the Transmission of Plague by Fleas , 1996, Science.

[53]  H. Bielefeldt-Ohmann.  Measuring virulence without a target. , 2000, Trends in microbiology.

[54]  K. Langfelder,et al.  Pigment biosynthesis and virulence. , 1999, Contributions to microbiology.

[55]  R. Isaacson.  Bacterial adherence to mucosal surfaces: an attribute of virulence. , 1983, Bulletin europeen de physiopathologie respiratoire.

[56]  D. Relman,et al.  Using DNA microarrays to study host-microbe interactions. , 2000, Emerging infectious diseases.

[57]  R. Brubaker.  Mechanisms of bacterial virulence. , 1985, Annual review of microbiology.

[58]  L. Pirofski,et al.  Human antibodies elicited by a pneumococcal vaccine express idiotypic determinants indicative of V(H)3 gene segment usage. , 1998, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[59]  Michael T. Wilson,et al.  Bacterial modulins: a novel class of virulence factors which cause host tissue pathology by inducing cytokine synthesis. , 1996, Microbiological reviews.