The Activities of Bacterial Pathogens In Vivo Based on Contributions to a Royal Society Discussion Meeting

Pathogenic bacteria have unique biological properties, which enable them to invade a host and cause sickness. The molecular bases of these biological properties are the determinants of pathogenicity, and the research objectives are to recognize them, identify them chemically and relate their structure to function. Most of our present knowledge comes from studies with cultures in vitro. However, there is a rising interest in bacterial behaviour in the infected host and new methods have been developed for studying it. This book describes those methods and shows how they, and a recent surge in conventional studies, are shedding light on the activities of bacterial pathogens in vivo. It discusses bacterial and host factors that operate in vivo to cause illness, showing how phenomena recognized in vitro relate to behaviour in vivo and, if evidence of relevance is not available now, indicating how it might be obtained. Contents:Introduction:Questions about the Behaviour of Bacterial Pathogens In Vivo (H Smith)DNA Topology and Adaptation of Salmonella Typhimurium to an Intracellular Environment (D G Marshall et al.)New Methods for Studying Bacterial Behaviour In Vivo:The Pathogenesis of Shigella Flexneri Infection: Lessons from In Vitro and In Vivo Studies (D J Philpott et al.)Detection and Analysis of Gene Expression During Infection by In Vivo Expression Technology (D S Merrell & A Camilli)Measurement of Bacterial Gene Expression In Vivo (I Hautefort & J C D Hinton)Identification and Analysis of Bacterial Virulence Genes In Vivo (K E Unsworth & D W Holden)Salmonella Interactions with Host Cells: In Vitro to In Vivo (B B Finlay & J H Brumell)Impact of the New Methods:In Vivo Gene Expression and the Adaptive Response: From Pathogenesis to Vaccines and Antimicrobials (D M Heithoff et al.)Challenge of Investigating Biologically Relevant Functions of Virulence Factors in Bacterial Pathogens (R Moxon & C Tang)Virulence Gene Regulation Inside and Outside (V J DiRita et al.)Evidence for Operation In Vivo of Aspects of Pathogenicity Revealed by Recent Work In Vivo: Potential Use of New Methods:Quorum Sensing and the Population-Dependent Control of Virulence (P Williams et al.)Type III Secretion: A Bacterial Device for Close Combat with Cells of Their Eukaryotic Host (G R Cornelis)Evolution of Microbial Pathogens (J Morschhäuser et al.)The Immune Responses to Bacterial Antigens Encountered In Vivo at Mucosal Surfaces (G Dougan et al.) Readership: Graduate students and researchers in microbiology. Keywords:Pathogenic Bacteria;Bacterial Pathogens in Vivo;Salmonella Typhimurium;Shigella Flexneri Infection;Gene Expression;Infection;Vaccines;Antimicrobials;Antigens