Acinetobacter baumannii: An Ancient Commensal with Weapons of a Pathogen

Pathogens

Payam Behzadi¹  Daniela Scribano²  Cecilia Ambrosi³  AnnaTeresa Palamara⁴  Meysam Sarshar⁵ 

[1] Department of Microbiology, College of Basic Sciences, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran 37541-374, Iran;Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy;IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, 00166 Rome, Italy;Laboratory Affiliated to Institute Pasteur Italia- Cenci Bolognetti Foundation, Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy;Research Laboratories, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00146 Rome, Italy;

关键词: Acinetobacter baumannii;    community-acquired infections;    nosocomial infections;    adherence;    persistence;    virulence factors;   

DOI  :  10.3390/pathogens10040387

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Acinetobacter baumannii is regarded as a life-threatening pathogen associated with community-acquired and nosocomial infections, mainly pneumonia. The rise in the number of A. baumannii antibiotic-resistant strains reduces effective therapies and increases mortality. Bacterial comparative genomic studies have unraveled the innate and acquired virulence factors of A. baumannii. These virulence factors are involved in antibiotic resistance, environmental persistence, host-pathogen interactions, and immune evasion. Studies on host–pathogen interactions revealed that A. baumannii evolved different mechanisms to adhere to in order to invade host respiratory cells as well as evade the host immune system. In this review, we discuss current data on A. baumannii genetic features and virulence factors. An emphasis is given to the players in host–pathogen interaction in the respiratory tract. In addition, we report recent investigations into host defense systems using in vitro and in vivo models, providing new insights into the innate immune response to A. baumannii infections. Increasing our knowledge of A. baumannii pathogenesis may help the development of novel therapeutic strategies based on anti-adhesive, anti-virulence, and anti-cell to cell signaling pathways drugs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown