Neisseria gonorrhoeae host adaptation and pathogenesis

Abstract

<p class="first" id="P3">The host-adapted human pathogen <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i> is the causative agent of gonorrhea. Consistent with its proposed evolution from an ancestral commensal bacterium, <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i> has retained features that are common in commensals, but it has also developed unique features that are crucial to its pathogenesis. The continued worldwide incidence of gonorrheal infection, coupled with the rising resistance to antimicrobials, and with the difficulties in controlling the disease in developing countries, highlights the need to better understand the molecular basis of <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i> infection. This knowledge will facilitate disease prevention, surveillance and control, improve diagnostics and may help to facilitate the development of effective vaccines or new therapeutics. In this Review, we discuss gender-related symptomatic gonorrheal disease, and provide an overview of the bacterial factors that are important for the different stages of pathogenesis, including transmission, colonization and immune evasion, and discuss the problem of antibiotic resistance. </p><p id="P4">The host-adapted human pathogen <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i> is the causative agent of gonorrhea. In this Review, Quillin and Seifert provide an overview of the bacterial factors that are important for the different stages of pathogenesis, including transmission, colonization and immune evasion, and discuss the problem of antibiotic resistance. </p>