The polymerase chain reaction was used to detect and specifically identify Listeria monocytogenes. A 174-bp region of the listeriolysin O gene was shown to be specifically amplified in L. monocytogenes but not in other species of Listeria or in a number of other gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. Less than 50 organisms could routinely be detected by a procedure involving two rounds of 3...

The impact of Listeria monocytogenes listeriolysin O (LLO) secretion on phosphoinositide metabolism and mediator (platelet-activating factor and prostaglandin I2) generation was investigated in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Wild-type L. monocytogenes, purified LLO, and an L. innocua strain engineered to secrete LLO all elicited a strong response, whereas mutant strains defective in LL...

Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne intracellular animal and human pathogen, interacts with infected host cells both prior to entry and during the intracellular phase of infection. This review is focused on the role of secreted proteins, including listeriolysin O and two distinct phospholipases C, in modulating the signal transduction of infected cells.

Listeriolysin O, the major virulent determinant of Listeria monocytogenes, is known for forming pores on cholesterol-rich membranes. In the present study, we reveal its other facet, rafts clustering. By immunofluorescence microscopy, we show that the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins CD14 and CD24, which normally exhibit uniform distribution on J774 cells, undergo clustering upon t...

We have examined the human humoral immune response directed against proteins of Listeria monocytogenes in both healthy individuals and listeriosis patients. Two major targets for an antibody response were found in individuals that did not suffer from listeriosis: listeriolysin (Hly) and the recently described internalin-related protein (IrpA). In contrast, the humoral response in listeriosis pa...