Implications of autophagy in anthrax pathogenicity

Abstract

The etiological agent for anthrax is Bacillus anthracis, which produces lethal toxin (LT) that exerts a myriad of effects on many immune cells. In our previous study, it was demonstrated that LT and protective antigen (PA) induce autophagy in mammalian cells. Preliminary results suggest that autophagy may function as a cellular defense mechanism against LT-mediated toxemia. This degradation pathway may also be relevant to other aspects of the immune response in both innate and adaptive immunity. Understanding the role of autophagy in response to anthrax infection and the possibility of modulating this degradation pathway as potential countermeasures are subjects for further investigation. ©2009 Landes Bioscience.