Model of bacterial toxin-dependent pathogenesis explains infective dose.

ABSTRACT: The initial amount of pathogens required to start an infection within a susceptible host is called the infective dose and is known to vary to a large extent between different pathogen species. We investigate the hypothesis that the differences in infective doses are explained by the mode of action in the underlying mechanism of pathogenesis: Pathogens with locally acting mechanisms tend to have smaller infective doses than pathogens with distantly acting mechanisms. While empirical evidence tends to support the hypothesis, a formal theoretical explanation has been lacking. We give simple analytical models to gain insight into this phenomenon and also investigate a stochastic, spatially explicit, mechanistic within-host model for toxin-dependent bacterial infections. The model shows that pa

SUBMITTER: Rybicki J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6196519 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature