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Pathogenesis of leptospirosis: interaction of Leptospira interrogans with in vitro cultured mammalian cells

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Abstract

Interactions of virulent Leptospira interrogans with murine monocyte-macrophage-like J774A.1 cells and Vero (African green monkey kidney fibroblasts) cells from attachment to internalization were investigated by a series of morphological analysis. Fontana silver staining revealed that only the pathogenic leptospires were able to attach to host cells and the attachment pattern varied depending on cell types that they interacted with. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirmed the formation of the leptospires-containing phagosomes and their colocalization with lysosomes in macrophages were verified by confocal microscopic analysis. Results of F-actin rearrangements examination indicated that virulent leptospires invaded host cells via a microfilament-independent pathway.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Dong Yu (currently at the Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine) and Dr Wenying An (School of International Studies, Zhejiang University) for providing critical review of the manuscript and Dr Shuang Qiu for the excellent technical assistance. This work was supported by a Grant (30370072) from National Natural Science Foundation of China.

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  1. Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Yunying Liu, Wei Zheng, Liwei Li, Yafei Mao & Jie Yan

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  1. Yunying Liu
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  2. Wei Zheng
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  3. Liwei Li
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  4. Yafei Mao
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Correspondence to Jie Yan.

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Liu, Y., Zheng, W., Li, L. et al. Pathogenesis of leptospirosis: interaction of Leptospira interrogans with in vitro cultured mammalian cells. Med Microbiol Immunol 196, 233–239 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00430-007-0047-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00430-007-0047-0

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