V. Torraca

Shigella serotypes associated with carriage in humans establish persistent infection in zebrafish

This paper shows that three Shigella serotypes associated with MSM transmission can establish persistent infection in zebrafish, failing to promote macrophage cell death.

Acquisition of a large virulence plasmid (pINV) promoted temperature-dependent virulence and global dispersal of O96:H19 enteroinvasive Escherichia coli

The paper shows that acquisition of the pINV plasmid in ST99 E. coli made its virulence temperature-dependent, aiding global dispersal.

Transcriptional profiling of zebrafish identifies host factors controlling susceptibility to Shigella flexneri

This study uses zebrafish to identify host factors, like gpr84, that influence susceptibility to Shigella flexneri infection through transcriptional profiling.

P1 bacteriophage-enabled delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 antimicrobial activity against Shigella flexneri

This study uses a P1 bacteriophage to deliver CRISPR-Cas9 for targeted killing of Shigella flexneri in zebrafish larvae, reducing bacterial load and improving survival.

Shigella sonnei infection of zebrafish reveals that O-antigen mediates neutrophil tolerance and dysentery incidence

This paper shows that Shigella sonnei's O-antigen mediates neutrophil tolerance and increases dysentery incidence in zebrafish, suggesting O-antigen as a therapeutic target.

Shigella sonnei O-antigen inhibits internalisation, vacuole escape and inflammasome activation

This study shows that S. sonnei's O-antigen reduces macrophage uptake and vacuole escape, leading to less pyroptosis compared to S. flexneri.

Antagonism between regular and atypical Cxcr3 receptors regulates macrophage migration during infection and injury in zebrafish

The study shows that Cxcr3.3, an atypical chemokine receptor in zebrafish, regulates macrophage migration by scavenging ligands that would otherwise activate Cxcr3.2, a conventional receptor involved in immune response.

Deficiency in the autophagy modulator Dram1 exacerbates pyroptotic cell death of Mycobacteria-infected macrophages

This study shows that Dram1 deficiency in zebrafish increases susceptibility to Mycobacterium marinum infection by impairing phagosome maturation and inducing pyroptotic cell death in macrophages.

Analysis tools to quantify dissemination of pathology in zebrafish larvae

The paper develops QuantiFish, an image analysis tool to quantify bacterial load and spatial distribution in zebrafish larvae infected with Mycobacterium marinum.

RNAseq profiling of leukocyte populations in zebrafish larvae reveals a cxcl11 chemokine gene as a marker of macrophage polarization during mycobacterial infection.

The paper identifies cxcl11aa as a marker of M1 macrophage polarization in zebrafish during mycobacterial infection using RNAseq profiling of sorted immune cell populations.