title: Bacillus cereus immune escape: a journey within macrophages.
abstract: During bacterial infection, professional phagocytes are attracted to the site of infection, where they constitute a first line of host cell defense. Their function is to engulf and destroy the pathogens. Thus, bacteria must withstand the bactericidal activity of professional phagocytes, including macrophages to counteract the host immune system. Bacillus cereus infections are characterized by bacteremia despite the accumulation of inflammatory cells at the site of infection. This implies that the bacteria have developed means of resisting the host immune system. Bacillus cereus spores survive, germinate, and multiply in contact with macrophages, eventually producing toxins that kill these cells. However, the exact mechanism by which B. cereus evades immune attack remains unclear. This review addresses the interaction between B. cereus and macrophages, highlighting, in particular, the ways in which the bacteria escape the microbicidal activities of professional phagocytes.
authors.affiliation: INRA, Unité MICALIS, AgroParisTech, UMR-1319, La Minière, Guyancourt, France.
authors.forename: Seav-Ly
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Nalini
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ramarao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Bacillus cereus; immune escape; macrophage