Interaction Between Host and Pathogen at the Single Cell Level In Vivo: Dynamics and Determinants of Bacterial Growth and Distribution during Salmonella Infection Infection

The central hypothesis behind the project is that the outcome of a Salmonella infection depends on host-pathogen interactions acting independently at individual cells. <P> Using mutant bacteria, gene-targeted mice and advanced multicolour fluorescence microscopy techniques we shall study: <OL> <LI> How individual bacterial populations distribute in the tissues;<LI>Those host and bacterial factors that regulate interactions between Salmonella and individual host cells; <LI> Whether active evasion of immune responses contributes to Salmonella spread and persistence in the body; <LI>How vaccine-induced immunity and treatment with various classes of antibiotics affects the growth, spread and persistence of Salmonella in the body at the level of individual cells. </ol>This research will provide a new approach to the study of bacterial pathogenesis in vivo.