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Review
. 2019 Mar 1;43(2):123-144.
doi: 10.1093/femsre/fuy043.

Klebsiella pneumoniae infection biology: living to counteract host defences

Affiliations
Review

Klebsiella pneumoniae infection biology: living to counteract host defences

José A Bengoechea et al. FEMS Microbiol Rev. .

Abstract

Klebsiella species cause a wide range of diseases including pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTIs), bloodstream infections and sepsis. These infections are particularly a problem among neonates, elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Klebsiella is also responsible for a significant number of community-acquired infections. A defining feature of these infections is their morbidity and mortality, and the Klebsiella strains associated with them are considered hypervirulent. The increasing isolation of multidrug-resistant strains has significantly narrowed, or in some settings completely removed, the therapeutic options for the treatment of Klebsiella infections. Not surprisingly, this pathogen has then been singled out as an 'urgent threat to human health' by several organisations. This review summarises the tremendous progress that has been made to uncover the sophisticated immune evasion strategies of K. pneumoniae. The co-evolution of Klebsiella in response to the challenge of an activated immune has made Klebsiella a formidable pathogen exploiting stealth strategies and actively suppressing innate immune defences to overcome host responses to survive in the tissues. A better understanding of Klebsiella immune evasion strategies in the context of the host-pathogen interactions is pivotal to develop new therapeutics, which can be based on antagonising the anti-immune strategies of this pathogen.

Keywords: Klebsiella; innate immunity; virulence.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mechanisms of innate immunity to K. pneumoniae infections. The figure depicts the cells implicated in containing K. pneumoniae infection. There is conclusive evidence demonstrating the interaction of K. pneumoniae with neutrophils, macrophages (and monocytes [not shown]), dendritic cells and epithelial cells. These interactions are marked with black arrows. The interaction with different subset of T cells, NK cells and other lymphocytes has not been investigated yet, although these cells participate in bacterial clearance. The network of connections between cells, and the role played by different cytokines activating host responses are depicted with blue arrows.

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