Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a medically important bacterial pathogen associated with many diseases and infections of the respiratory system, wound sites, surgical incisions, and other portals of entry and exit. S. aureus is able to invade cells via mechanisms that have yet to be fully characterized. Vimentin, a protein filament of the animal cell cytoskeleton, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), a family of kinases responsible for initiating several cell signaling events, were found to be associated with S. aureus invasion. Confocal microscopy revealed that the vimentin network in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) undergoes dynamic rearrangement in steady state under control conditions. However, cells infected with S. aureus demonstrated peri-nuclear collapse of the vimentin network. Pre-treatment with LY294002, a drug that inhibits PI3K activity, decreased invasion of S. aureus and paralyzed the vimentin network. These data suggest that PI3K mediates S. aureus infection and vimentin rearrangement. / Department of Biology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/187916 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Knecht, Sharmon M. |
| Contributors | McDowell, Susan A. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | ix, 36 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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