SUMMARY Type IV pili (T4P) are multifunctional protein fibers produced on the surfaces of a
wide variety of bacteria and archaea. The major subunit of T4P is the type IV pilin, and …

This review aims to elucidate the different mechanisms of blood brain barrier (BBB)
disruption that may occur due to invasion by different types of bacteria, as well as to show …

The choroid plexus (CP) is the source of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production and location of
the blood-CSF barrier (BCSFB), which is constituted by the epithelial cells of the CP. Several …

Brain damage in bacterial meningitis leading to long-term neurologic sequelae and death is
caused by several mechanisms. Bacterial invasion and the release of bacterial compounds …

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious, acute respiratory disease of humans
that is caused by the Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Bordetella pertussis. In the face of …

The clinical symptoms induced by Neisseria meningitidis reflect compartmentalized
intravascular and intracranial bacterial growth and inflammation. In this chapter, we describe …

Neisseria meningitidis (the meningococcus) causes significant morbidity and mortality
worldwide through an epidemic or sporadic invasive infections. The epidemiology of N …

The tetraspanins constitute a conserved superfamily of four-span membrane proteins that
are widely distributed in multi-cellular organisms. A characteristic property of tetraspanins is …

Infection with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is characterized by asymptomatic
latent infection in the central nervous system and skeletal muscle tissue in the majority of …

Le meningiti acute più frequenti sono di eziologia virale e, per la maggior parte, benigne. Le
meningiti batteriche sono più rare ma sono delle urgenze vitali estreme che impongono una …