Intracellular Infection
Intracellular Infection - Related Videos
11:18
Infection of Zebrafish Embryos with Intracellular Bacterial Pathogens
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Cited by 234 •
2012
Transparent zebrafish embryos have proved useful model hosts to visualize and functionally study interactions between innate immune cells and intracellular bacterial pathogens, such as Salmonella typhimurium and Mycobacterium marinum. Micro-injection of bacteria and multi-color fluorescence imaging are essential techniques involved in the application of zebrafish embryo infection models.
02:06
Visualizing Intracellular Bacterial Communities in an Infected Mouse Bladder
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2026
Source: Conover, M. S. et. al., Establishment and Characterization of UTI and CAUTI in a Mouse Model. J. Vis. Exp. (2015)This video demonstrates the detection of intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) in mouse bladder tissue infected with β-galactosidase-expressing Escherichia coli. Following tissue fixation, permeabilization, and staining with X-gal, IBCs appear as blue puncta under a dissecting microscope, confirming bacterial invasion during urinary tract infection.
03:43
High-Throughput Imaging of Intracellular Brucella abortus Infection in Host Epithelial Cells
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2026
Source: Casanova, A., et al. Microscopy-based Assays for High-throughput Screening of Host Factors Involved in Brucella Infection of Hela Cells. J. Vis. Exp. (2016)This video demonstrates high-throughput imaging of Brucella abortus infection in epithelial cells with siRNA-mediated STING knockdown to investigate the role of cytosolic DNA sensing in intracellular bacterial replication and host innate immune response.
03:41
Isolation of Intracellular Pathogenic Bacteria from Infected Host Cells
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2026
Source: Sigal, N., et al. RNA Purification from Intracellularly Grown Listeria monocytogenes in Macrophage Cells. J. Vis. Exp. (2016).This video demonstrates the isolation of internalized pathogenic bacteria from infected bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). Bacteria are allowed to attach to host cells, and unattached bacteria are washed away. After internalization, an antibiotic is added to eliminate non-internalized bacteria. The host cells are lysed, centrifuged, and the supernatant is...
08:32
Development and Assessment of Intracellular Infection Models for Staphylococcus aureus
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2025
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has the capability to disseminate throughout the body, causing persistent and recurrent infections. To better understand these processes, this study establishes an intracellular infection model for S. aureus. This model will provide a crucial foundation for investigating the mechanisms behind intracellular infections.
FAQs
A key intracellular survival challenge is avoiding lysosomal degradation. Once inside a host cell, a pathogen may persist by preventing or escaping this destructive cellular process, preserving a protected location in which it can obtain nutrients and continue its infection-related activities. This mechanism helps explain why intracellular pathogens can complicate efforts to understand or treat infection.
Host-cell signaling is another major target. Intracellular pathogens can manipulate signaling pathways that normally coordinate cellular responses, potentially changing how the infected cell reacts to invasion. At the same time, they redirect cellular resources toward their own support and replication. Studying these changes connects molecular events inside a cell with pathogen persistence and disease development.
Intracellular infection activates both innate and adaptive immune defenses, so outcomes reflect an interaction rather than pathogen activity alone. The infected cell contributes to the response while the host mounts broader defenses against the invading organism. Comparing these responses across bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi helps researchers examine how different pathogens exploit cells and how immunity responds.
Experimental models make it possible to investigate host-pathogen interactions under controlled conditions. They can be used to examine how invasion, intracellular persistence, resource redirection, signaling changes, and immune activation relate to one another. Such models are especially valuable when researchers need to connect events at the cellular level with disease mechanisms or with differences in treatment resistance.
Mechanistic knowledge from intracellular infection research can support several translational goals. It informs the development of antimicrobial therapies for pathogens that persist within cells, contributes to vaccine development, and provides a framework for investigating treatment resistance. The same knowledge can reveal which host-pathogen interactions are most relevant to disease, connecting basic biology with therapeutic strategy.
Different pathogen groups, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, can interact with host cells in biologically distinct ways. Examining all four categories prevents research from being limited to a single pathogen strategy. This comparative perspective strengthens understanding of host-cell exploitation, immune defense, disease causation, and the range of questions that experimental models can address.