Macrophages orchestrate elimination of from the intestinal epithelial cell niche via TLR-induced IL-12 and IFN-γ.

Bacteria of the genus replicate in intestinal epithelial cells and cause shigellosis, a severe diarrheal disease that resolves spontaneously in most healthy individuals. During shigellosis, neutrophils are abundantly recruited to the gut, and have long been thought to be central to control and pathogenesis. However, how shigellosis resolves remains poorly understood due to the longstanding lack of a tractable and physiological animal model.

Synaptopodin is necessary for intercellular spread.

Unlabelled: For many intracellular pathogens, their virulence depends on an ability to spread between cells of an epithelial layer. For intercellular spread to occur, these pathogens deform the plasma membrane into a protrusion structure that is engulfed by the neighboring cell. Although the polymerization of actin is essential for spread, how these pathogens manipulate the actin cytoskeleton in a manner that enables protrusion formation is still incompletely understood.