Gene, Cell and Tissue IV
Microbiology
Lecture 2
✔ Study about infection
✔ virulence factors
✔ Toxins- Exotoxin and
Endotoxin.
⮚Study about
infection
Infection: Multiplication of an infectious agent within
the body. Multiplication of the bacteria that are part
of the normal microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract,
skin, and so on is generally not considered an infection;
on the other hand, multiplication of pathogenic
bacteria (eg, Salmonella species)—even if the person is
asymptomatic—is deemed an infection.
People get infectious diseases when microorganisms overpower our host defenses
The term infection has two meanings:
1. The presence of microbes in the body. A person can be infected with an organism of low
pathogenicity and not develop symptoms of disease
2. The symptoms of disease - when a person says, “I have an infection.”
Word infection does not have to be equated with disease
pathogen if it is capable of causing disease;
• A microorganism is a
• Opportunistic pathogens are those that rarely, if ever, cause disease in
immunocompetent people but can cause serious infection in immunocompromised
patients. These opportunists are frequent members of the body’s normal flora
Virulence is a quantitative measure of pathogenicity and is measured by the number of organisms
required to cause disease.
The 50% lethal dose (LD50) is the number of organisms needed to kill half the hosts, and the 50%
infectious dose (ID50) is the number needed to cause infection in half the hosts. Organisms with a
lower LD50 (or ID50) are said to be more virulent than those with a higher LD50 (or ID50) because fewer
organisms are needed to cause death or disease.
The infectious dose of an organism required to cause disease varies greatly among the pathogenic
bacteria. For example, Shigella and Salmonella both cause diarrhea by infecting the gastrointestinal
tract, but the infectious dose of Shigella is less than 100 organisms, whereas the infectious dose of
Salmonella is on the order of 100,000 organisms. The infectious dose of bacteria depends primarily on
their virulence factors
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infection
Basic Characteristics/information of/about Infections
• Many infections are asymptomatic or inapparent because our host defences have
eliminated the microorganism before it could multiply to sufficient numbers to cause
the symptoms of disease.
• Bacteria cause the symptoms of disease by two main mechanisms: production of
toxins (both exotoxins and endotoxins) and induction of inflammation.
• Most bacterial infections are communicable (contagious) (i.e., capable of spreading
from person to person), but some are not (e.g.,botulism and Legionella pneumonia).
• Three epidemiologic terms are often used to describe infections: endemic infections
are those that occur at a persistent, usually low level in a certain geographic area,
epidemics are those infections that occur at a much higher rate than usual, and
pandemics are those infections that spread rapidly over large areas of the globe.
⮚ Study about
infection Normal Microbiota
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infection
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infection
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infection
Normal Microbiota
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infection
STAGES OF BACTERIAL
PATHOGENESIS
(1) Transmission from an external source into
the portal of entry.
(2) Evasion of primary host defences such as
skin or stomach acid.
(3) Adherence to mucous membranes, usually
by bacterial pili.
(4) Colonization by growth of the bacteria at
the site of adherence.
(5) Disease symptoms caused by toxin
production or invasion accompanied by
inflammation.
(6) Host responses, both nonspecific and
specific (immunity), during steps 3, 4 and 5.
(7) Progression or resolution of the disease.
⮚ Study about (1)
infection
Transmission
Contact transmission
Direct contact
Indirect contact
Droplet transmission
Vehicle transmission
Airborne transmission
Waterborne transmission
Foodborne transmission
Vector transmission
Biological vectors
Mechanical vectors
Vehicle transmission
Airborne transmission involves the spread
of pathogens farther than one meter to the
respiratory mucous membranes of a new
host via an aerosol a cloud of small droplets
and solid particles suspended in the air.
Aerosols may contain pathogens either on
dust or inside droplets.
Dust particles can carry Staphylococcus,
Streptococcus, and Hantavirus, whereas
measles virus and tuberculosis bacilli can be
transmitted in dried, airborne droplets.
Fungal spores of Histoplasma and
Coccidioides are typically inhaled.
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infection PATHOGENESIS
(1)
Transmission
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infection PATHOGENESIS
(1) Transmission of waterborne
diseases
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infection
STAGES OF BACTERIAL
PATHOGENESIS
(1) Transmission of
Foodborne diseases
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infection PATHOGENESIS
(1) Transmission by
Insects
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infection PATHOGENESIS
(3) Adherence to cell surface
• Pili are the main mechanism by which bacteria
adhere to human cells. They are fibers that extend
from the surface of bacteria that mediate
attachment to specific receptors on cells
• Glycocalyx is a polysaccharide “slime layer”
secreted by some strains of bacteria that mediates
strong adherence to certain structures such as heart
valves, prosthetic implants, and catheters
. After the bacteria attach, they often form a
protective matrix called a biofilm consisting of
various polysaccharides and proteins
. Some strains of E. coli and Salmonella have surface
proteins called curli, which mediate binding of the
bacteria to endothelium and to extracellular
proteins
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infection
Disease symptoms caused by toxin production or invasion accompanied by
inflammation
Invasion
enzymes secreted by invasive bacteria:
(1) Collagenase and hyaluronidase, which degrade collagen and hyaluronic
acid, respectively, thereby allowing the bacteria to spread through subcutaneous
tissue; they are especially important in cellulitis caused by Streptococcus pyogenes.
(2) Coagulase, which is produced by Staphylococcus aureus and accelerates the
formation of a fibrin clot from its precursor, fibrinogen (this clot may protect the
bacteria from phagocytosis by walling off the infected area and by coating the
organisms with a layer of fibrin). Coagulase is also produced by Yersinia pestis, the
cause of bubonic plague.
(3) Immunoglobulin A (IgA) protease, which degrades IgA, allowing the organism to adhere to mucous membranes, and is
produced chiefly by [Link], Haemophilus influenzae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
(4) Leukocidins, which can destroy both neutrophilic leukocytes and macrophages.
⮚ Study about STAGES OF BACTERIAL PATHOGENESIS
infection
Disease symptoms caused by toxin production or invasion accompanied by
inflammation
Inflammation & Intracellular
Survival
Bacteria can evade our host defences by a process
There are two types of inflammation, pyogenic and granulomatous,
Called intracellular survival - (i.e., bacteria that
Pyogenic inflammation- can live within cells are protected from attack by
The host defence against pyogenic (pus-producing) bacteria such as S. macrophages and neutrophils). Note that
many of these bacteria (e.g., M. tuberculosis) are
pyogenes, consists of neutrophils (and antibody and complement).
not obligate intracellular parasites (which can
Granulomatous inflammation- the host defence grow only within cells), but rather have the
against intracellular, granuloma-producing bacteria, such as ability to enter and survive inside cells.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, consists of macrophages and CD4-
positive T cells. The type of inflammatory lesion is an important
diagnostic criterion.
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infection
Disease symptoms caused by toxin production or invasion accompanied by
inflammation
Exotoxins are polypeptides secreted by certain bacteria that alter
specific cell functions resulting in disease symptoms. They
are produced by both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria,
• Exotoxins are antigenic and induce antibodies called antitoxins.
Exotoxins can be modified to form toxoids, which are antigenic
but not toxic. Toxoids, such as tetanus toxoid, are used to
immunize against disease.
• Many exotoxins have an A–B subunit structure in which the A
subunit is the active (toxic) one and the B subunit is the one that
binds to the cell membrane and mediates the entry of the A
subunit into the cell.
• Exotoxins have different mechanisms of action and different
targets within the cell and therefore cause a variety of diseases
with characteristic symptoms.
Exotoxins
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infection
Important Bacterial Exotoxins
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infection
Disease symptoms caused by toxin production or invasion accompanied by
inflammation
Endotoxins
• Endotoxins are lipopolysaccharides (LPS) located in the outer
membrane only of gram-negative bacteria. They are not secreted
by bacteria.
• Lipid A is the toxic component of LPS. It induces the
overproduction of cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor,
interleukin-1, and nitric oxide, from macrophages, which causes
the symptoms of septic shock, such as fever and hypotension.
• Endotoxins are poorly antigenic, do not induce antitoxins, and do
not form toxoids.
Endotoxins
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infection PATHOGENESIS
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infection
Different Strains of Bacteria
Can Cause Different Diseases
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Typical Stages of an Infectious Disease
1) The incubation period, which is the time between the acquisition of the
organism (or toxin) and the beginning of symptoms (this time varies from hours
todays to weeks, depending on the organism).
(2) The prodrome period, during which nonspecific symptoms such as fever,
malaise, and loss of appetite occur.
(3) The specific-illness period, during which the overt characteristic signs and
symptoms of the disease occur.
(4) The recovery period, also known as the convalescence period, during which
the illness abates and the patient returns to the healthy state.
After the recovery period, some individuals become chronic carriers of the
organisms and may shed them while remaining clinically well.
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Clinical Aspects of Infectious Disease
Treatment
Manifestations Over the past 80 years, therapeutic tools of
Fever, pain, and swelling are the universal signs of remarkable potency and specificity have
infection become available for the treatment of
bacterial infections. These include all the
antibiotics and an array of synthetic chemicals
Diagnosis that kill or inhibit the infecting organism, but
A major difference between infectious and other have minimal or acceptable toxicity for the
diseases is that the probabilities just described can host
be specifically resolved, often overnight. Most
microorganisms can be isolated from the patient,
grown in artificial culture, and identified. Others Prevention
can be seen microscopically The goal of the scientific study of any disease is its
or detected by measuring the specific immune prevention. In the case of infectious
response to the pathogen. diseases, this has involved public health measures
and immunization
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