Host–pathogen interactions and immune evasion strategies in Francisella tularensis pathogenicity

Abstract

Francisella tularensis is an intracellular Gram-negative bacterium that causes life-threatening tularemia. Although the prevalence of natural infection is low, F. tularensis remains a tier I priority pathogen due to its extreme virulence and ease of aerosol dissemination. F. tularensis can infect a host through multiple routes, including the intradermal and respiratory routes. Respiratory infection can result from a very small inoculum (ten organisms or fewer) and is the most lethal form of infection. Following infection, F. tularensis employs strategies for immune evasion that delay the immune response, permitting systemic distribution and induction of sepsis. In this review we summarize the current knowledge of F. tularensis in an immunological context, with emphasis on the host response and bacterial evasion of that response.

Keywords:

• LVS
• Schu S4
• tularemia
• host immunity
• Francisella tularensis

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by US National Institutes of Health (Grant PO1 AI056320).

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.