This department focuses on the pathogenic mechanisms of infectious bacteria, particularly bacterial enteropathogens such as enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Vibrio spp. and Aeromonas spp.
Current subjects of research are:
- Analysis of colonization factors of enteropathogens and their host receptors.
- Molecular biological analysis of the protein toxins produced by various enteropathogens.
These studies should provide important information for the development of new drugs and vaccines. - Analysis of the structure and function of the typeIII secretion system (T3SS) and the pathogenic mechanism by which its effectors are injected into target cells.
- Development of rapid detection and identification tests for various pathogens according to immunological and molecular genetic principles.
- A study of hospital-acquired infections and a molecular epidemiological study performed in the Research Collaboration Center on Emerging and Re-emerging Infections (RCC-ERI) in Thailand are also being conducted.
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Fig.3. Schematic depiction of AexU internalization and cytotoxicity events:
AexU is translocated and secreted by Aeromonas T3SS (1,2), which recognizes α6β4-integrin receptors (3). The activation of β4-integrin selectively activates Rac1 (4), which induces membrane ruffles and macropinocytosis (5). Rab8-associated macropinosomes then enclose AexU and endocytose it before fusing into tubules (6) that move toward the cell center (7) where AexU preferentially localizes in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Calnexin assists AexU folding and the assembled AexU then proceeds further along the secretory pathway (8). AexU again uses Rab8 to recycle back to the plasma membrane and inactivates the membrane-associated active Rac1 (9), which leads to progressive Rac1-dependent cytoskeletal disruptions. The AexU-containing vesicles then bud out from the affected cell (10). If the cell is mitotically active, AexU accumulates between the daughter cells in the telophase of mitosis and prevents their dissociation, thereby resulting in two firmly attached cells (11).