Neisseria meningitidis colonizes the human nasopharynx and occasionally causes
lethal or damaging septicemia and meningitis. Here, we examined the adherencemediated
signaling of meningococci to human cells by comparing gene expression
profiles of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) infected by adherent
wild-type, frpC-deficient mutant, or the nonadherent (DpilD) N. meningitidis.
Pili-mediated adhesion of meningococci resulted in alterations of expression levels
of human genes known to regulate apoptosis, cell proliferation, inflammatory
response, adhesion and genes for signaling pathway proteins such as TGF-b/Smad,
Wnt/b-catenin and Notch/Jagged. This reveals that adhering piliated meningocci
manipulate host signaling pathways controlling cell proliferation while establishing
a commensal relationship.