Orientia tsutsugamushi stimulates an original gene expression program in monocytes: relationship with gene expression in patients with scrub typhus.

ABSTRACT: Orientia tsutsugamushi is the causal agent of scrub typhus, a public health problem in the Asia-Pacific region and a life-threatening disease. O. tsutsugamushi is an obligate intracellular bacterium that mainly infects endothelial cells. We demonstrated here that O. tsutsugamushi also replicated in monocytes isolated from healthy donors. In addition, O. tsutsugamushi altered the expression of more than 4,500 genes, as demonstrated by microarray analysis. The expression of type I interferon, interferon-stimulated genes and genes associated with the M1 polarization of macrophages was significantly upregulated. O. tsutsugamushi also induced the expression of apoptosis-related genes and promoted cell death in a small percentage of monocytes. Live organisms were indispensable to the type I inte

SUBMITTER: Tantibhedhyangkul W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3096591 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature