Host-Pathogen Interactions Methods and Protocols

In recent decades, infectious diseases, once believed to be fairly contained, have become a vital, resurgent field of research. In Host-Pathogen Interactions: Methods and Protocols, top experts examine the relationship between the host and the pathogen, crucial in the outcome of an infection and the establishment of disease or asymptomatic, commensal colonization by organisms. The step-by-step laboratory methods and protocols of this volume study host-pathogen interaction, with a focus on fungal, bacterial and parasitic pathogens, at a molecular level in order to reveal the mechanisms of infection and to identify the vulnerabilities of the pathogen of interest. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, the chapters feature brief subject introductions, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Comprehensive and cutting-edge, Host-Pathogen Interactions: Methods and Protocols serves as an easy entry point for all those investigating the factors responsible for the pathogenicity of microorganisms.

Bacterial Pathogens.- Introduction: Bacterial Pathogens.- Transcriptome Analyses in the Interaction of Neisseria meningitidis with Mammalian Host Cells.- Surface-Exposed Adherence Molecules of Streptococcus pneumoniae.- Screening of Virulence Traits in Legionella pneumophila and Analysis of the Host Susceptibility to Infection by Using the Dictyostelium Host Model System.- Characterizing Host Receptor Recognition by Individual Bacterial Pathogens.- Fungal Pathogens.- Introduction: Fungal Pathogens.- Isolation and Purification of Antigenic Components of Cryptococcus.- A Method for Examining Glycans Surface Expression of Yeasts by Flow Cytometry.- Human Epithelial Model Systems for the Study of Candida Infections In Vitro: Part I. Adhesion to Epithelial Models.- Human Epithelial Model Systems for the Study of Candida infections In Vitro: Part II. Histologic Methods for Studying Fungal Invasion.- In Vitro Systems for Studying the Interaction of Fungal Pathogens with Primary Cells from the Mammalian Innate Immune System.- Experimental Infection of Rodent Mammals for Fungal Virulence Testing.- Real-Time and Semiquantitative RT-PCR Methods to Analyze Gene Expression Patterns During Aspergillus-Host Interactions.- Antibody-Based Strategy to Identify Candida albicans Genes Expressed During Infections.- Identification of the Candida albicans Immunome During Systemic Infection by Mass Spectrometry.- Parasites.- Introduction: Parasites.- Axenic In Vitro Cultivation of Echinococcus multilocularis Metacestode Vesicles and the Generationof Primary Cell Cultures.- Culture of Exoerythrocytic Stages of the Malaria Parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax.- Modulation of Caspase Activation by Toxoplasma gondii.- Host Responses.- Introduction: Host Responses.- Fungal and Bacterial Killing by Neutrophils.- Endothelial Cell Stimulation by Candida albicans.- Models of Oral and Vaginal Candidiasis Based on In Vitro Reconstituted Human Epithelia for the Study of Host-Pathogen Interactions.- Phagocytosis of Candida albicans by RNAi-Treated Drosophila S2 Cells.- Oral Mucosal Cell Response to Candida albicans in Transgenic Mice Expressing HIV-1.- Proteomic Profiling of Serologic Response to Candida albicans During Host-Commensal and Host-Pathogen Interactions.