Immune evasion and modulation mechanisms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative bacterium, causing severe pulmonary infections in Cystic Fibrosis and immune-compromised patients. The immune responses induced by this bacterial infection and the chronic infection in the human host have been intensively studied in the past decades. More recently, attention has also been paid to immune evasion mechanisms of P. aeruginosa. Currently, a broad spectrum of immune evasion mechanisms of P. aeruginosa has been described, targeting different components of the immune system. In this review, an overview is given of the immune evasion and modulation mechanisms of P. aeruginosa in the human lung, but also in other hosts. In general, P. aeruginosa uses degradation of self-antigens, nonspecific proteases and exploitation of host immune regulators as main immune evasion strategies. The immune evasive components of P. aeruginosa contribute to bacterial proliferation and survival in the broad range of hosts of this pathogen and provide a source as antibiotic or vaccine targets for future applications.