The Passenger Domain of Bartonella bacilliformis BafA Promotes Endothelial Cell Angiogenesis via the VEGF Receptor Signaling Pathway.

ABSTRACT: Bartonella bacilliformis is a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen that provokes pathological angiogenesis and causes Carrion's disease, a neglected tropical disease restricted to South America. Little is known about how B. bacilliformis facilitates vasoproliferation resulting in hemangioma in the skin in verruga peruana, the chronic phase of Carrion's disease. Here, we demonstrate that B. bacilliformis extracellularly secrets a passenger domain of the autotransporter BafA exhibiting proangiogenic activity. The B. bacilliformis-derived BafA passenger domain (BafA_Bba) increased the number of human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVECs) and promoted tube-like morphogenesis. Neutralizing antibody against BafA_Bba detected the BafA derivatives

SUBMITTER: Tsukamoto K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9044958 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature