Outer membrane vesicles function as offensive weapons in host-parasite interactions.
Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), ubiquitously shed from Gram-negative bacteria, contain various virulence factors such as toxins, proteases, adhesins, and lipopolysaccharide, which are utilized to establish a colonization niche, modulate host defense and response, and impair host cell function. Thus, OMVs can be considered as a type of bacterial offensive weapon. This review discusses the entry mechanism of OMVs into host cells as well as their etiological roles in host-parasite interactions.
Amano
Atsuo
A
Department of Oral Frontier Biology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, 1-8 Yamadaoka, Suita-Osaka 565-0871, Japan. amanoa@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp
Takeuchi
Hiroki
H
Furuta
Nobumichi
N
D000818:Animals; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000166:cytology* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D022142:Secretory Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
D037521:Virulence Factors