Journal Article

Neisseria gonorrhoeae host adaptation and pathogenesis

Quillin, Sarah Jane, Seifert, H Steven

2018

Overview

The host-adapted human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of gonorrhoea. Consistent with its proposed evolution from an ancestral commensal bacterium, N. gonorrhoeae has retained features that are common in commensals, but it has also developed unique features that are crucial to its pathogenesis. The continued worldwide incidence of gonorrhoeal infection, coupled with the rising resistance to antimicrobials and the difficulties in controlling the disease in developing countries, highlights the need to better understand the molecular basis of N. gonorrhoeae infection. This knowledge will facilitate disease prevention, surveillance and control, improve diagnostics and may help to facilitate the development of effective vaccines or new therapeutics. In this Review, we discuss sex-related symptomatic gonorrhoeal disease and provide an overview of the bacterial factors that are important for the different stages of pathogenesis, including transmission, colonization and immune evasion, and we discuss the problem of antibiotic resistance.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: Adaptive systems / Animal models / Antibiotic resistance / Antibiotics / Antimicrobial agents / Antimicrobial resistance / Asymptomatic / Bacteria / Cell culture / Cell survival / Colonization / Commensals / Culture techniques / Developing countries / Disease control / Disease transmission / Gene transfer / Genetic transformation / Gonorrhea / Horizontal cells / Horizontal transfer / Human performance / Immune evasion / Immune system / Infections / LDCs / Leukocytes (neutrophilic) / Men / Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Neutrophils / Nutrient concentrations / Nutrients / Oxygen / Pathogenesis / Pathogenicity / Pathogens / Regulatory mechanisms (biology) / Replication / Survival / Tissue culture / Transgenic animals / Transgenic mice / Vaccines / Virulence / Virulence factors / Women