The intracellular pathogen Shigella flexneri is the causative agent of bacillary dysentery in humans. The disease is characterized by bacterial invasion of intestinal cells, dissemination within the colonic epithelium through direct spread from cell to cell, and massive inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. Here, we review the mechanisms supporting S. flexneri dissemination. The dissemination ...

The gram negative rod Shigella flexneri uses it surface protein IcsA to induce host cell actin assembly and to achieve intracellular motility. Yet, the IcsA protein lacks the oligoproline sequences found in ActA, the surface protein required for locomotion of the gram positive rod Listeria monocytogenes. Microinjection of a peptide matching the second ActA oligoproline repeat (FEFPPPPTDE) stops...