Pathogenicity and virulence of Shigella sonnei: a highly drug-resistant pathogen of increasing prevalence
Author(s)
Matanza, Xose M
Clements, Abigail
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Shigella spp. are the causative agent of shigellosis (or bacillary dysentery), a diarrhoeal disease characterized for the bacterial invasion of gut epithelial cells. Among the 4 species included in the genus, Shigella flexneri is principally responsible for the disease in the developing world while Shigella sonnei is the main causative agent in high-income countries. Remarkably, as more countries improve their socioeconomic conditions, we observe an increase in the relative prevalence of S. sonnei. To date, the reasons behind this change in aetiology depending on economic growth are not understood. S. flexneri has been widely used as a model to study the pathogenesis of the genus, but as more research data are collected, important discrepancies with S. sonnei have come to light. In comparison to S. flexneri, S. sonnei can be differentiated in numerous aspects; it presents a characteristic O-antigen identical to that of one serogroup of the environmental bacterium Plesiomonas shigelloides, a group 4 capsule, antibacterial mechanisms to outcompete and displace gut commensal bacteria, and a poorer adaptation to an intracellular lifestyle. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) have recognized the significant threat posed by antibiotic-resistant strains of S. sonnei, demanding new approaches. This review gathers knowledge on what is known about S. sonnei within the context of other Shigella spp. and aims to open the door for future research on understanding the increasing spread of this pathogen.
Date Issued
2023-12-31
Date Acceptance
2023-11-01
Citation
Virulence, 2023, 14 (1)
ISSN
2150-5594
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Journal / Book Title
Virulence
Volume
14
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37994877
Subjects
ACID-RESISTANCE
ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
bacillary dysentery
bacterial pathogenesis
diarrhoea disease
EPITHELIAL-CELLS
ESCHERICHIA-COLI
GLOBAL ENTERIC MULTICENTER
III SECRETION SYSTEM
Immunology
Infectious Diseases
INFLAMMASOME ACTIVATION
INTRACELLULAR SHIGELLA
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Microbiology
PROTEIN SECRETION
RISK-FACTORS
Science & Technology
Shigella sonnei
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Article Number
2280838
Date Publish Online
2023-11-23