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Listeria is a genus of bacteria that acts as an intracellular parasite in mammals. As of 2024, 28 species have been identified.Jones, D. 1992. Current classification of the genus Listeria. In: Listeria 1992. Abstracts of ISOPOL XI, Copenhagen, Denmark). p. 7-8. ocourt, J., P. Boerlin, F.Grimont, C. Jacquet, and J-C. Piffaretti. 1992. Assignment of Listeria grayi and Listeria murrayi to a single species, Listeria grayi, with a revised description of Listeria grayi. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 42:171-174.Boerlin et al. 1992. L. ivanovii subsp. londoniensis subsp. novi. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 42:69-73. Jones, D., and H.P.R. Seeliger. 1986. International committee on systematic bacteriology. Subcommittee the taxonomy of Listeria. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 36:117-118. The genus is named in honour of the British pioneer of sterile surgery Joseph Lister. Listeria species are Gram-positive, rod-shaped, and facultatively anaerobic, and do not produce .
The major human pathogen in the genus is L. monocytogenes. Although L. monocytogenes has low infectivity, it is hardy and can grow in a refrigerator temperature of 4 °C (39.2 °F) up to the human body temperature of 37 °C (98.6 °F). No.] It is the usual cause of the relatively rare bacterial disease listeriosis, an infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacteria. The overt form of the disease has a case-fatality rate of around 20–30%. Listeriosis can cause serious illness in pregnancy, neonate, adults with immunodeficiency and the old age, and may cause gastroenteritis in others who have been severely infected. The incubation period can vary from three to 70 days. The two main clinical manifestations are sepsis and meningitis, often complicated by encephalitis, a pathology unusual for bacterial infections.
L. ivanovii is a pathogen of , specifically , and rarely causes listeriosis in humans.Christelle Guillet, Olivier Join-Lambert, Alban Le Monnier, Alexandre Leclercq, Frédéric Mechaï, Marie-France Mamzer-Bruneel, Magdalena K. Bielecka, Mariela Scortti, Olivier Disson, Patrick Berche, José Vazquez-Boland, Olivier Lortholary, and Marc Lecuit. "Human Listeriosis Caused by Listeria ivanovii". Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 January; 16(1): 136–138.
All species within the genus Listeria are gram-positive, catalase-positive rods and do not produce . Under the microscope, Listeria species appear as small rods, sometimes arranged in short chains. In direct smears, they may be Coccus, and can be mistaken for streptococci. Longer cells may resemble corynebacteria. Flagella are produced at room temperature, but not at 37 °C. Hemolytic activity on blood agar has been used as a marker to distinguish L. monocytogenes from other Listeria species, but it is not a definitive criterion. Further biochemical characterization may be necessary to distinguish between the different species of Listeria.
Listeria monocytogenes is commonly found in soil, stream water, sewage, plants, and food . Listeria in soil can contaminate vegetables, and animals can be carriers. It has been found in uncooked meats, uncooked vegetables, fruits including cantaloupe and apples, pasteurized or unpasteurized milk and milk products, and processed foods. Pasteurization and sufficient cooking kill Listeria; however, contamination may occur after cooking and before packaging. For example, meat-processing plants producing ready-to-eat foods, such as hot dogs and deli meats, must follow extensive sanitation policies and procedures to prevent Listeria contamination.
Listeria monocytogenes, for example, encodes virulence genes that are . The expression of virulence factor is optimal at 39 °C, and is controlled by a transcriptional activator, PrfA, whose expression is thermoregulated by the PrfA thermoregulator UTR element. At low temperatures, the PrfA transcript is not translated due to structural elements near the ribosome binding site. As the bacteria infect the host, the temperature of the host denatures the structure and allows translation initiation for the virulence genes.
The majority of Listeria bacteria are attacked by the immune system before they are able to cause infection. Those that escape the immune system's initial response, however, spread through intracellular mechanisms, which protects them from circulating immune factors (AMI).
To invade, Listeria induces macrophage phagocytosis uptake by displaying D-galactose in their that are then bound by the macrophage's . Other important adhesins are the . Listeria uses internalin A and B to bind to cellular receptors. Internalin A binds to E-cadherin, while internalin B binds to the cell's Met receptors. If both of these receptors have a high enough affinity to Listerias internalin A and B, then it will be able to invade the cell via an indirect zipper mechanism. Once phagocytosed, the bacterium is encapsulated by the host cell's acidic phagolysosome organelle. Listeria, however, escapes the phagolysosome by lysing the vacuole's entire membrane with secreted hemolysin, now characterized as the exotoxin listeriolysin O. The bacteria then replicate inside the host cell's cytoplasm.
Listeria must then navigate to the cell's periphery to spread the infection to other cells. Outside the body, Listeria has -driven motility, sometimes described as a "tumbling motility". However, at 37 °C, flagella cease to develop and the bacterium instead usurps the host cell's cytoskeleton to move. Inventively, Listeria polymerizes an actin tail or "comet", from actin monomers in the host's cytoplasm with the promotion of virulence factor ActA. The comet forms in a polar manner and aids the bacterial migration to the host cell's outer membrane. Gelsolin, an actin filament severing protein, localizes at the tail of Listeria and accelerates the bacterium's motility. Once at the cell surface, the actin-propelled Listeria pushes against the cell's membrane to form protrusions called or "rockets". The protrusions are guided by the cell's leading edge to contact adjacent cells, which then engulf the Listeria rocket and the process is repeated, perpetuating the infection. Once phagocytosed, the bacterium is never again extracellular: it is an intracellular parasite like S. flexneri, Rickettsia spp., and C. trachomatis.
Cold-cut meats were implicated in an outbreak in Canada in 2008 and a widespread one the US in 2024.Rachel Roubein and Joe Heim. How ignored warnings at Boar’s Head plant led to a deadly listeria outbreak. Washington Post 9/30/2024. Improperly handled cantaloupe was implicated in both the outbreak of listeriosis from Jensen Farms in Colorado in 2011, and a similar listeriosis outbreak across eastern Australia in early 2018. 35 people died across these two outbreaks. The Australian company GMI Food Wholesalers was fined A$236,000 for providing L. monocytogenes-contaminated chicken wraps to the airline Virgin Australia in 2011. Caramel apples have also been cited as a source of listerial infections which hospitalized 26 people, of whom five died.
In 2019, the United Kingdom experienced nine cases of the disease, of which six Listeria outbreak: Toll rises to six as Sussex patient dies 1 August 2019 bbc.co.uk accessed 2 August 2019 were fatal, in an outbreak caused by contaminated meat (produced by North Country Cooked Meats) in hospital sandwiches. In 2019, two people in Australia died after probably eating smoked salmon and a third fell ill but survived the disease. In September 2019, three deaths and a miscarriage were reported in the Netherlands after the consumption of listeria-infected deli meats produced by Offerman.
Keeping foods in the home refrigerated below discourages bacterial growth. Unpasteurized dairy products may pose a risk. Heating of meats (including beef, pork, poultry, and seafood) to a sufficient internal temperature, typically , will kill the food-borne pathogen.
Invasive listeriosis: bacteria have spread to the bloodstream and central nervous system. Treatment includes intravenous delivery of high-dose antibiotics and hospital in-patient care of (probably) not less than two weeks stay, depending on the extent of the infection. Ampicillin, penicillin, or amoxicillin are typically administered for invasive listeriosis; gentamicin may be added in cases of patients with compromised immune systems. In cases of allergy to penicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin, and fluoroquinolones may be used. For effective treatment the antibiotic must penetrate the host cell and bind to penicillin-binding protein 3 (PBP3). Cephalosporins are not effective for treating listeriosis.
In cases of pregnancy, prompt treatment is critical to prevent bacteria from infecting the fetus; antibiotics may be given to pregnant women even in non-invasive listeriosis. Mirena Nikolova, et al., states that applying antibiotics is crucial during the third trimester because cell-mediated immunity is reduced during this time. Pfaff and Tillet say that listeriosis can cause long-term consequences—including meningitis, preterm labor, newborn sepsis, stillbirths—when contracted during pregnancy. Oral therapies in less severe cases may include amoxicillin or erythromycin. Higher doses may be given to pregnant women to ensure penetration of the umbilical cord and placenta. Infected pregnant women may receive to monitor the health of the fetus.
Asymptomatic patients who have been exposed to Listeria typically are not treated, but are informed of the signs and symptoms of the disease and advised to return for treatment if any develop.
In oncology, researchers are investigating the use of Listeria as a cancer vaccine, taking advantage of its "ability to induce potent innate and adaptive immunity" by activating gamma delta T cells.
Researchers have also been investigating the continuous presence of Listeria in food processing plants. The bacteria’s presence has been partially attributed to the formation of . This increases the likelihood of food contamination and is further complicated by the fact that biofilms are highly resistant to many disinfectants. The detection of these biofilms was made much easier through the use of quantitative techniques such as plate counting and crystalline violet staining. Although the structures and components of these biofilms have been extensively studied, how they are formed at the molecular level remains a subject of contention. This uncertainty surrounding their formation complicates any methods to completely eradicate the biofilms. However, it has been observed that certain antimicrobial agents such as bacteriophages and enzymes have made promising progress in the effort to eradicate the Listeria biofilm. The enzymes specifically have been noted to have the capability to disrupt specific chemical components of the biofilms, degrading them in the process. More research and development is needed to make these biofilm elimination processes more affordable and efficient to be used on a larger scale. In another study, scientists isolated a strain of Lactobacillus plantarum that was able to completely eradicate Listeria from a sample of sauerkraut.
Epidemiology
Some of the foods most commonly implicated in Listeria contaminations include ready-to-eat salads and seafood, deli meats, soft and semi-soft cheese, and frozen vegetables.
Prevention
Preventing listeriosis as a foodborne illness requires effective sanitation of food contact surfaces. Ethanol is an effective topical sanitizer against Listeria. Quaternary ammonium can be used in conjunction with alcohol as a food-contact safe sanitizer with increased duration of the sanitizing action.
Treatment
Non-invasive listeriosis: bacteria are retained within the digestive tract. Symptoms are mild, lasting only a few days and requiring only supportive care. Muscle pain and fever can be treated with over-the-counter pain relievers; diarrhea and gastroenteritis can be treated with over-the-counter medications.
Research
Some Listeria species are opportunistic pathogens: L. monocytogenes is most prevalent in the elderly, pregnant mothers, and patients infected with HIV. With improved healthcare leading to a growing elderly population and extended life expectancies for HIV infected patients, physicians are more likely to encounter this otherwise-rare infection (only seven per 1,000,000 healthy people are infected with virulent Listeria each year). Better understanding the cell biology of Listeria infections, including relevant virulence factors, may lead to better treatments for listeriosis and other intracytoplasmic parasite infections.
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