Project description:The pathogen Staphylococcus aureus can invade and survive within human cells. There, the intracellular bacterium induces host cell death, which may facilitate spread of infection and tissue destruction. We here conducted a shRNA screen and infected the library of knock-down cells with S. aureus. We identified calcium signaling pathways to play a role in S. aureus invasion and cytotoxicity. For latter, the intracellular bacteria induce a cytoplasmic and mitochondrial Ca2+-overload, which results in host cell death.
