What are mechanisms that bacteria or pathogens use to cause disease?
Invasion - The process of microorganisms entering body tissue or host cells, surviving & spreading in the body. Toxigenicity - Production of microbial toxins that damage the host but aid in microorganism’s survival. Immunopathology - Host’s immune response causes damage to the host itself.
Give an example of a bacteria that uses toxigenicity to cause disease.
Clostridium tetani - Causes tetanus by production of tetanospasmin toxin, which causes muscle spasms. Prevents neurons from releasing inhibitory neurotransmitters GABA & glycine by degrading protein synaptobrevin. Results in FAILED INHIBITION of motor reflexes by sensory stimuli. Gram+ rod, anaerobic, spore-forming, found in soil & faeces.
Give an example of a bacteria that uses invasion to cause disease.
Brucella abortus - Causes Brucellosis in cattle by invading host cells. Gram (-), non-spore-forming, facultatively intracellular.
Give an example of a bacteria that uses immunopathology to cause disease.
Mycobacterium bovis or M. tuberculosis - Causes granulomatous response that damages lung tissue. Gram+ rod, aerobic, non-motile; replicates in alveoli of host.
What is pathogenicity?
The ability of an infectious agent to cause disease.
What is virulence?
The measure of a pathogen’s ability to cause disease; how pathogenic something is.
What is pathogenesis?
The process of disease progression.
What is an opportunistic pathogen?
A pathogen only capable of causing disease when allowed to do so through particular circumstances of the host.
What is a commensal?
A microorganism that naturally resides on the body, causing no harm. In some cases, when immunity in the host is suppressed or compromised or ends up in the wrong area, a commensal can become pathogenic. Eg., E. coli is a commensal of the colon but becomes pathogenic if it gets into the urinary tract. Eg. Staphylococci is a commensal of the skin but can cause infection if skin is broken.
What is nosocomial infection?
Hospital-acquired infection. Eg., Bacteria tend to become more pathogenic in hospitals where a lot of antibiotics are used, resulting in resistant microorganisms.
What are the differences between Gram (+) & Gram (-) bacteria?
The distinction depends on the microorganism’s response to Gram stain with crystal violet. Gram (+) bacteria stain purple because they have a thick peptidoglycan wall that absorbs and reacts with the stain. Gram (-) bacteria stain pink with counterstain because they have outer & inner membranes that sandwich the thin peptidoglycan cell wall, which doesn’t pick up the crystal violet.
What are the main mechanisms employed by Gram+ bacterial exotoxins?
Give some examples of exotoxins that are enzymes.
Give some examples of Gram+ exotoxins that are neurotoxins/biological toxins and explain how they work.
Give some examples of exotoxins that damage the host’s immune system.
What are endotoxins and what type of bacteria produce them?
They are lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in the bacterial cell’s outer membrane that don’t do damage themselves but ignite host immune response (mainly cytokine response). They are kept “within” the bacteria cell membrane & only released after destruction of the bacteria cell wall, e.g. via detergent. The lipid part of cell membrane is the “endotoxin” & the hydrophilic”polysaccharide O side-chain” makes up the “O-antigen”. Gram (-) bacteria ONLY are associated with endotoxins.
What mechanisms of pathogenicity do Gram (-) bacteria employ?
How do Gram (-) bacteria use adhesion as a mechanism of pathogenicity?
Give examples of exotoxins used by Gram (-) bacteria.
What is meant by cell-host interaction employed by Gram (-) bacteria?
Bacteria that are either commensal and/or opportunistic.
What is a Gram (-) bacteria’s capsular polysaccaride (capsule) and how does it work?
A thick, mucous-like, layer of polysaccharide. This “capsule” cloaks antigenic proteins on the bacterial surface that would otherwise provoke an immune response - phagocytosis by neutrophils and opsonophagocytosis by macrophages – & thereby lead to the destruction of the bacteria. Capsular polysaccharides are water soluble, commonly acidic & linear.
What is LPS and what role does Lipid A play in LPS’s role as Gram (-) endotoxin?
LPS is a three-part structure in Gram (-) outer membrane. The innermost, hydrophobic portion is Lipid A, which anchors the LPS molecule, comprised of Lipid A, core polysaccharide & O-side chains, aka O-antigen, to the outer membrane. When released from the bacterial cell well, Lipid A activates macrophages and causes IL-1 & TNFalpha release, stimulating a strong immune response. Clinically, the response can range from fever, thrombosis, DIC, leucopenia to complement, hypotension, circulatory collapse, shock & death.
How does iron acquisition aid in a Gram (-) bacteria’s pathogenicity?
Since no bacteria can synthesize iron, Gram (-) bacteria scavenge or harvest it to grow using: 1. Siderophores: High-affinity chelating compounds put out by Gram (-) bacteria into environment that scavenge iron & bring back. 2. Transferrin-binding protiens - Proteins that hold iron, like Hb, that bacteria can clutch onto & steal from. Eg. S. aureus possess transferrin-binding proteins in cell wall.
What are three ways in which the cell membrane & capsule of the Gram (-) bacteria help the pathogen evade the host immune system?