title: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and innate immune responses to bacterial infections.
abstract: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), an essential component of the antimicrobial innate immune system, is present in neutrophils and multiple other tissues. It prevents iron acquisition by microorganisms by sequestering iron-loaded bacterial siderophores. NGAL also modulates neutrophil functions. Its production is inducible following Toll-like receptor 4 activation and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. NGAL is employed clinically in the diagnosis of acute kidney injury and may be useful in general in the differential diagnosis of a bacterial-mediated infectious process. Elevated levels of NGAL have been detected in the blood of patients with bacterial urinary tract infection, community-acquired pneumonia, sepsis, as well as in the cerebrospinal fluid and peritoneal fluid of patients with bacterial meningitis and peritonitis. Some bacteria have developed resistance to NGAL-mediated iron sequestration by production of modified siderophores that are not recognized by NGAL.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medical College, 525 East 68th Street, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nasioudis
authors.forename: Steven S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Witkin
mesh_terms: D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D000071068:Lipocalin-2; D054834:Lipocalins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017262:Siderophores / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins; C489506:LCN2 protein, human; D000071068:Lipocalin-2; D054834:Lipocalins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D017262:Siderophores