A Transgenic Model for Listeriosis: Role of Internalin in Crossing the Intestinal Barrier

作者：Marc Lecuit, Sandrine Vandormael‐Pournin, Jean Marc Lefort, Michel Huerre, Pierre Gounon, Catherine Dupuy, Charles Babinet, Pascale Cossart · 发表于：Science · 年份：2001 · DOI：10.1126/science.1059852 · 被引用次数：635 · 研究领域：Listeria monocytogenes in Food Safety、Probiotics and Fermented Foods、Salmonella and Campylobacter epidemiology

Listeria monocytogenes is responsible for severe food-borne infections, but the mechanisms by which bacteria cross the intestinal barrier are unknown. Listeria monocytogenes expresses a surface protein, internalin, that interacts with a host receptor, E-cadherin, to promote entry into human epithelial cells. Murine E-cadherin, in contrast to guinea pig E-cadherin, does not interact with internalin, excluding the mouse as a model for addressing internalin function in vivo. In guinea pigs and transgenic mice expressing human E-cadherin, internalin was found to mediate invasion of enterocytes and crossing of the intestinal barrier. These results illustrate how relevant animal models for human infections can be generated.