Caister Academic Press

Iron Uptake Systems in Pathogenic Bordetella

Timothy J. Brickman and Sandra K. Armstrong
from: Iron Uptake and Homeostasis in Microorganisms (Edited by: Pierre Cornelis and Simon C. Andrews). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2010)

Abstract

Upon colonization of the mammalian respiratory epithelium by mucosal pathogens of the genus Bordetella, the host-pathogen interaction causes inflammatory changes, immune activation, and host cell injury. In this dynamic environment, Bordetella cells scavenge the nutritional iron necessary for growth. The three classical Bordetella species produce the siderophore alcaligin. In addition, they can utilize xenosiderophores that could be produced by commensals or other microbes that transiently inhabit the nasopharynx. As infection progresses, extravasation of immune cells, erythrocytes and serum to the mucosal surface can occur, exacerbated by the damaging action of Bordetella toxins, thus providing iron sources such as transferrin and heme compounds to the microbe. The three characterized Bordetella iron systems for utilization of alcaligin, enterobactin and heme are each inducible by the cognate iron source. The ability to sense and respond to the presence of available iron sources allows these pathogens to adapt to temporal changes in iron source availability, and this ability is important for successful in vivo growth read more ...
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