TY  - JOUR
A1  - Solger, Franziska
A1  - Kunz, Tobias C.
A1  - Fink, Julian
A1  - Paprotka, Kerstin
A1  - Pfister, Pauline
A1  - Hagen, Franziska
A1  - Schumacher, Fabian
A1  - Kleuser, Burkhard
A1  - Seibel, Jürgen
A1  - Rudel, Thomas
T1  - A Role of Sphingosine in the Intracellular Survival of Neisseria gonorrhoeae
JF  - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
N2  - Obligate human pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae are the second most frequent bacterial cause of sexually transmitted diseases. These bacteria invade different mucosal tissues and occasionally disseminate into the bloodstream. Invasion into epithelial cells requires the activation of host cell receptors by the formation of ceramide-rich platforms. Here, we investigated the role of sphingosine in the invasion and intracellular survival of gonococci. Sphingosine exhibited an anti-gonococcal activity in vitro. We used specific sphingosine analogs and click chemistry to visualize sphingosine in infected cells. Sphingosine localized to the membrane of intracellular gonococci. Inhibitor studies and the application of a sphingosine derivative indicated that increased sphingosine levels reduced the intracellular survival of gonococci. We demonstrate here, that sphingosine can target intracellular bacteria and may therefore exert a direct bactericidal effect inside cells.
KW  - sphingosine
KW  - sphingolipids
KW  - sphingosine kinases
KW  - invasion
KW  - survival
KW  - click chemistry
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-204111
SN  - 2235-2988
VL  - 10
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kunz, Tobias C.
A1  - Kozjak-Pavlovic, Vera
T1  - Diverse facets of sphingolipid involvement in bacterial infections
JF  - Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
N2  - Sphingolipids are constituents of the cell membrane that perform various tasks as structural elements and signaling molecules, in addition to regulating many important cellular processes, such as apoptosis and autophagy. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that sphingolipids and sphingolipid signaling play a vital role in infection processes. In many cases the attachment and uptake of pathogenic bacteria, as well as bacterial development and survival within the host cell depend on sphingolipids. In addition, sphingolipids can serve as antimicrobials, inhibiting bacterial growth and formation of biofilms. This review will give an overview of our current information about these various aspects of sphingolipid involvement in bacterial infections.
KW  - infection
KW  - pathogenic bacteria
KW  - sphingolipids
KW  - ceramide
KW  - autophagy
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201757
VL  - 7
IS  - 203
ER  -