DOI: 10.1126/science.1103966 ISSN:
Autophagy Defends Cells Against Invading Group A Streptococcus
Ichiro Nakagawa, Atsuo Amano, Noboru Mizushima, Akitsugu Yamamoto, Hitomi Yamaguchi, Takahiro Kamimoto, Atsuki Nara, Junko Funao, Masanobu Nakata, Kayoko Tsuda, Shigeyuki Hamada, Tamotsu Yoshimori- Multidisciplinary
We found that the autophagic machinery could effectively eliminate pathogenic group A Streptococcus (GAS) within nonphagocytic cells. After escaping from endosomes into the cytoplasm, GAS became enveloped by autophagosome-like compartments and were killed upon fusion of these compartments with lysosomes. In autophagy-deficient Atg5 –/– cells, GAS survived, multiplied, and were released from the cells. Thus, the autophagic machinery can act as an innate defense system against invading pathogens.