title: New insights into gastrointestinal anthrax infection.
abstract: Bacterial infections are the primary cause of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders in both developing and developed countries, and are particularly dangerous for infants and children. Bacillus anthracis is the 'archetype zoonotic' pathogen; no other infectious disease affects such a broad range of species, including humans. Importantly, there are more case reports of GI anthrax infection in children than inhalational disease. Early diagnosis is difficult and widespread systemic disease develops rapidly. This review highlights new findings concerning the roles of the gut epithelia, commensal microbiota, and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in initiation of disease and systemic dissemination in animal models of GI anthrax, the understanding of which is crucial to designing alternative therapies that target the establishment of infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA; Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA; Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. Electronic address: m.zadeh@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Mansour
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohamadzadeh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000881:Anthrax / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000502:physiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D006801:Humans
keywords: B-1 cells; Bacillus anthracis; gastrointestinal anthrax; infectious enteritis; innate lymphoid cells; microbiota