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Modulation of p53 during bacterial infections

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 13, pages 741–748 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

In recent years, numerous bacterial pathogens have been shown to inactivate the major tumour suppressor p53 during infection. This inactivation impedes the protective response of the host cell to the genotoxicity that often results from bacterial infection. Moreover, a new aspect of the antibacterial activity of p53 that has recently come to light — downregulation of host cell metabolism to interfere with intracellular bacterial replication — has further highlighted the crucial role of p53 in host–pathogen interactions, as host cell metabolism is relevant for all intracellular bacteria, as well as other pathogens that replicate inside host cells and use host metabolites. In this Progress article, we summarize recent work that has advanced our knowledge of the interaction between pathogenic bacteria and p53, and we discuss the known and expected outcomes of this interaction for pathogenesis.

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Figure 1: p53 pathways.
Figure 2: Bacterial modulation of p53.
Figure 3: Consequences of p53 modulation for the infection process.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank V. Kozjak-Pavlovic for critical comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) Medizinische Infektionsgenomik (0315834 A), and the Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF) Würzburg, grant B-192 to T.R.

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  1. Thomas Rudel

    Present address: Thomas Rudel is at the Department of Microbiology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.,

  2. Christine Siegl

    Present address: Present address: Department of Translational Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases and German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 460, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christine Siegl was previously at the Department of Microbiology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.,

    Christine Siegl

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Correspondence to Thomas Rudel.

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Siegl, C., Rudel, T. Modulation of p53 during bacterial infections. Nat Rev Microbiol 13, 741–748 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3537

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