title: Host-pathogen interactions of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae: from commensal to pathogen.
abstract: Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a commensal microbe often isolated from the upper and lower respiratory tract. This bacterial species can cause sinusitis, acute otitis media in preschool children, exacerbations in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as conjunctivitis and bacteremia. Since the introduction of a vaccine against H. influenzae serotype b in the 1990s, the burden of H. influenzae-related infections has been increasingly dominated by NTHi. Understanding the ability of NTHi to cause infection is currently an expanding area of study. NTHi is able to exert differential binding to the host tissue through the use of a broad range of adhesins. NTHi survival in the host is multifaceted, that is, using virulence factors involved in complement resistance, biofilm, modified immunoglobulin responses, and, finally, formation and utilization of host proteins as a secondary strategy of increasing the adhesive ability.
authors: Clinical Microbiology, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
authors: Benjamin Luke
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0660-8909
authors: BL
authors: Duell
authors: Clinical Microbiology, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
authors: Yu-Ching
authors: YC
authors: Su
authors: Clinical Microbiology, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
authors: Kristian
authors: K
authors: Riesbeck
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D018441:Biofilms; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018073:Haemophilus Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D018073:Haemophilus Vaccines; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: 
  Haemophilus
  ; adhesion; biofilm formation; extracellular matrix; intracellular; serum resistance