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When intracellular pathogens invade the frontiers of cell biology and immunology
J. Pizarro-Cerdá1, E. Moreno2, M. Desjardins3 and J.P. Gorvel1
1Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, Marseille, France, 2Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica and 3Departement d'Anatomie, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Offprint requests to: Dr. Jean-Pierre Gorvel, Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, Case 906, 13288 Marseille, France
Summary. Cellular microbiology has recently been
described as a new discipline emerging at the interface
between cell biology and microbiology (Cossart et ai.,
1996). Many microbial pathogens can enter eukaryotic
cells and live intracellularly either inside vacuoles or in
the cytoplasm. The different steps during the invasion
process are on the way of being dissected at the
molecular level revealing new insights in basic cellular
functions. Indeed, bacterial pathogenesis can help us to
better understand the dynamics of cell cytoskeleton,
intracellular membrane traffic and signal transduction
events. The recent advancements in the field of microbial
pathogenesis are creating a new cross-talk between cell
biologists, microbiologists and immuno-Iogists. In this
review, the different strategies used by several pathogens
are presented and the mechanisms elaborated by host
cells from the immune system to eliminate the parasites
discussed. Histol Histopathol 12, 1027-1038
(1997)
Key words: Microbial pathogens, Intracellular
parasitism, Membrane traffic, Vaccines, Phagocytosis, Cellular microbiology
DOI: 10.14670/HH-12.1027
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