Seminario MUGMB: "Regulation of Listeria virulence: from bench to bedside"

Listeria monocytogenes virulence is controlled by PrfA, an allosterically regulated transcription factor. PrfA is essential for activation of the listerial virulence programme during infection but is equally important for maximizing the pathogen’s transmission fitness by preventing the cost of unneeded virulence factors during saprophytic life outside the host. This presentation will review how L. monocytogenes PrfA senses the transition from saprophyte to pathogen via the peptide composition of the habitat, and discuss new data about the structural determinants of the mechanism of promiscuous PrfA inhibition by nutritional peptides. The presentation will also illustrate how basic research into PrfA regulation and the mechanisms of Listeria intracellular parasitism can translate into direct clinical applications in the treatment of listeriosis.

José A. Vázquez-Boland, Microbial Pathogenomics Laboratory, Edinburgh Medical School (Biomedical Sciences), University of Edinburgh.