title: Interactions of meningococcal virulence factors with endothelial cells at the human blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier and their role in pathogenicity.
abstract: The Gram-negative extracellular bacterium Neisseria meningitidis is one of the most common aetiological agents of bacterial meningitis affecting predominantly young children worldwide. This bacterium is normally a quiescent coloniser of the upper respiratory tract, but in some individuals it enters the blood stream and causes invasive diseases, such as septicaemia and meningitis. Interactions of N. meningitidis with human endothelial cells are crucially involved in pathogencitiy, and great efforts have been made to understand these molecular interactions. The aim of this review article is to provide an overview of the interactions of meningococcal virulence factors with host endothelial cells at the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier.
authors: Division of Hematology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.|Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Wuerzburg, Germany.
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Simonis
authors: Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Wuerzburg, Germany.
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Schubert-Unkmeir
mesh_terms: D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000382:microbiology*; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000382:microbiology; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: 
  Neisseria meningitidis
  ; brain endothelial cells; membrane lipids; meningococcal ligands; molecular targets; signalling