Pathogenic mechanisms of Anaplasma phagocytophilum / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Anaplasma phagocytophilum ( A. phagocytophilum) is tick-borne obligate pathogen that parasitizes rodents, ruminants, deer, horses and human. Ticks can transmit A. phagocytophilum to human resulting in a disease called anaplasmosis. With the increase in outdoor activities, the chances of exposing to ticks increase in human and the probability of suffering from anaplasmosis increases correspondingly. Most patients can recover from anaplasmosis after doxycycline therapy, but immunocompromised patients are at risk of seizure, renal failure and even death. A comprehensive understanding of A. phagocytophilum pathogenic mechanisms can provide new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of critically ill patients. Therefore, this review first gave examples of pathogenesis-related proteins of A. phagocytophilum, and then summarized the current research status of the pathogenic mechanism of this pathogen from three aspects of interference with cytoskeletal remodeling, inhibition of host cell apoptosis and dysfunction of the innate immune response, and proposed main issues to be addressed.