2016/06/26 by Dennis J. Doorduijn, Suzan H.M. Rooijakkers, Suzan H. M. Rooijakkers +2
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Immunology and Microbiology · Medicine · #Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria #Burkholderia infections and melioidosis #Complement system in diseases
paper · doi:10.1016/j.imbio.2016.06.014
openalex publication_date 2016/06/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The current emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria causes major problems in hospitals worldwide. To survive within the host, bacterial pathogens exploit several escape mechanisms to prevent detection and killing by the immune system. As a major player in immune defense, the complement system recognizes and destroys bacteria via different effector mechanisms. The complement system can label bacteria for phagocytosis or directly kill Gram-negative bacteria via insertion of a pore-forming complex in the bacterial membrane. The multi-drug resistant pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae exploits several mechanisms to resist complement. In this review, we present an overview of strategies used by K. pneumoniae to prevent recognition and killing by the complement system. Understanding these complement evasion strategies is crucial for the development of innovative strategies to combat K. pneumoniae.