A 20-year perspective on listeria monocytogenes pathogenesis

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes has attracted the attention of a diverse group of investigators, including clinicians, food microbiologists, immunologists, and medical microbiologists. The reason for this broad degree of interest is due, in large part, to the fact that this facultative intracellular pathogen is highly amenable to experimental analysis and has a broad range of relevant biologic activities ranging from its growth in the environment, infection of many different animal species, and as an important human pathogen. Consistent with its broad host range, L. monocytogenes infects rodents and is perhaps the most well-characterized bacterial pathogen in a murine model of infection; indeed, L. monocytogenes is a darling of the immunologists due to its ease of handling and rapidity of growth, dating back 45 years to the classic work of Mackaness (1962). It took another 25 years for the bacterial pathogenesis community to become enamored with this important pathogen spurred by the realization in the 1980s that L. monocytogenes represents a serious public health threat especially to pregnant women (Chap. 2).