AUTHOR=Branch Alexis Hope , Stoudenmire Julie L. , Seib Kate L. , Cornelissen Cynthia Nau 

TITLE=Acclimation to Nutritional Immunity and Metal Intoxication Requires Zinc, Manganese, and Copper Homeostasis in the Pathogenic Neisseriae

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.909888

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.909888

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</italic> and <italic>Neisseria meningitidis</italic> are human-specific pathogens in the Neisseriaceae family that can cause devastating diseases. Although both species inhabit mucosal surfaces, they cause dramatically different diseases. Despite this, they have evolved similar mechanisms to survive and thrive in a metal-restricted host. The human host restricts, or overloads, the bacterial metal nutrient supply within host cell niches to limit pathogenesis and disease progression. Thus, the pathogenic <italic>Neisseria</italic> require appropriate metal homeostasis mechanisms to acclimate to such a hostile and ever-changing host environment. This review discusses the mechanisms by which the host allocates and alters zinc, manganese, and copper levels and the ability of the pathogenic <italic>Neisseria</italic> to sense and respond to such alterations. This review will also discuss integrated metal homeostasis in <italic>N. gonorrhoeae</italic> and the significance of investigating metal interplay.</p>