title: The basis of persistent bacterial infections.
abstract: Selected bacterial pathogens, such as Helicobacter pylori and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, establish persistent infections in mammalian hosts despite activating inflammatory and antimicrobial responses. The strategies used to overcome host defense responses vary with the anatomical location of the infection but often rely on deliberate manipulations of the host cell responses. Phylogenetically unrelated bacteria can share similar strategies for the establishment of persistence and, in selected examples, one even can define homologous "persistence" genes. Such observations suggest that persistent infection is a specific phase in infection pathogenesis rather than a fortuitous imbalance in the host-pathogen interaction.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center, Karolinska Institute, Nobels väg 16, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. mikael.rhen@mtc.ki.se
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rhen
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clements
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bergström
authors.forename: Staffan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Normark
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000382:microbiology; D013144:Spirochaetales / Q000145:classification / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins