Induction of apoptosis by the PorB porin of Neisseria gonorrhoeae: A paradigm for the evolution of programmed cell death

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Thomas Rudel
• Subject Area: Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens
• Term: from 2002 to 2007
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5373295

The facultative intracellular, obligate human pathogenic bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae infects mucosal surfaces and rarely causes systemic infections. The PorB porin plays an important role for the survival and adaptation of gonococci since it has been shown to modulate host cell apoptosis and the bactericidal action of immune cells. PorB is capable of translocating from the bacterial cell surface into target cell membranes where it is rapidly targeted to different cellular compartments including the mitochondria. PorB structurally resembles the mitochondrial porins representing common constituents of eukaryotic cells. Since recent evidences assume a critical role of mitochondria as central integrators of apoptotic cell death, the infection with pathogenic Neisseria species is considered to mimic aspects of the interaction of ancestral endosymbionts with early eukaryotic organisms. The goal of this application is to investigate on the role of PorB for the adaptation of N. gonorrhoeae in host cells. A special focus will be the molecular mechanisms of the apoptotic and anti-apoptotic function of PorB. Further aspects cover the mechanism of PorB translocation from the bacteria into host cell membranes and the transport of PorB inside eukaryotic cells.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1131: Life Inside Cells