title: Inflammasome Activation Can Mediate Tissue-Specific Pathogenesis or Protection in Staphylococcus aureus Infection.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive coccus that interacts with human hosts on a spectrum from quiet commensal to deadly pathogen. S. aureus is capable of infecting nearly every tissue in the body resulting in cellulitis, pneumonia, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, brain abscesses, bacteremia, and more. S. aureus has a wide range of factors that promote infection, and each site of infection triggers a different response in the human host. In particular, the different patterns of inflammasome activation mediate tissue-specific pathogenesis or protection in S. aureus infection. Although still a nascent field, understanding the unique host-pathogen interactions in each infection and the role of inflammasomes in mediating pathogenesis may lead to novel strategies for treating S. aureus infections. Reviews addressing S. aureus virulence and pathogenesis (Thammavongsa et al. 2015), as well as epidemiology and pathophysiology (Tong et al. 2015), have recently been published. This review will focus on S. aureus factors that activate inflammasomes and their impact on innate immune signaling and bacterial survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Jason H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Melehani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. jaduncan@med.unc.edu.|Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. jaduncan@med.unc.edu.|Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. jaduncan@med.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Duncan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D058847:Inflammasomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D058847:Inflammasomes
keywords: Hemolysin; Host–pathogen interaction; Innate immune; Leukotoxin; Macrophage; Monocyte; Neutrophil; Pathogenesis; S. aureus; Virulence