How to move from cell to cell without leaving the intracellular space: lessons from intracellular parasites
Intracellular parasites play an important role in human infectious diseases. Pathogenic bacteria of four genera, Shigella, Listeria, Rickettsia, and Burkholderia, developed a similar strategy for intracellular reproduction and dissemination inside tissues and organs: these bacteria destroy the phagosome to multiply in the cytoplasm, and spread from cell to cell without leaving the intracellular space. For intracellular and intercellular movement, these bacteria use convergently developed mechanisms that control synthesis of actin microfilaments, which are elements of the host cell cytoskeleton. The review discusses molecular mechanisms underlying the polymerization of actin microfilaments on the surface of bacteria and the bacterial spreading from cell to cell. It also discusses what reasons may necessitate the development of mechanisms of movement using actin microfilaments, and the potential of proteins that provide intracellular and intercellular movement as a target for the development of new antimicrobial agents.