Nature Communications (Nov 2020)

An original infection model identifies host lipoprotein import as a route for blood-brain barrier crossing

  • Billel Benmimoun,
  • Florentia Papastefanaki,
  • Bruno Périchon,
  • Katerina Segklia,
  • Nicolas Roby,
  • Vivi Miriagou,
  • Christine Schmitt,
  • Shaynoor Dramsi,
  • Rebecca Matsas,
  • Pauline Spéder

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19826-2
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 18

Abstract

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Bacterial and fungal pathogens that cross the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) can cause severe disease. Here, Benmimoun et al. develop a model to study BBB crossing in the developing Drosophila brain and discover Group B Streptococcus factors important for BBB crossing and virulence, one of which, a lipoprotein, they confirm in mice.