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Abstract:

The outermost capsule structures of pathogenic bacteria are a well-known virulence factor, but itremains largely unknown how the capsules mechanistically enhance bacterial virulence under invivo infection conditions. Our recent studies have shown that the capsules primarily target the liverto enhance bacterial survival at the onset of blood-borne infections. In mouse sepsis model, thecapsules enable virulent bacteria to circumvent the recognition of liver resident macrophageKupffer cells (KCs) in a capsular serotype-dependent manner. In contrast to effective capture ofacapsular bacteria by KCs, the encapsulated bacteria are partially (low-virulence types) orcompletely (high-virulence types) “untouchable” for KCs. Finally, effective vaccination enables theliver to capture normally uncatchable bacteria. These studies have discovered the molecularinterplay between the capsules and liver macrophages as a master controller of the fate andvirulence of encapsulated bacteria, and suggest that the interplay is targetable for therapeuticcontrol of septic infections.

Biography

Dr. Jing-Ren Zhang is Professor of Microbiology at Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing,China. He received his Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular genetics in the University of TexasMedical School – Houston. After a postdoctoral training in the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,Dr. Zhang started his independent research career as an assistant professor in Albany MedicalCollege in 2000. In 2010, he moved to Tsinghua University, and has since established a spectrum ofmedical and graduate courses in medical microbiology, as well as a research center for infectiousdisease.

The main focus of Dr. Zhang’s laboratory is on bacterial pathogens. He has made seminalcontributions to the understanding and intervention of human infectious diseases, with over 70peer-reviewed publications, and a list of patents and awards. His laboratory has recently discoveredthe liver as the major battle ground between encapsulated bacteria and host immunity duringblood infections. These discoveries will have profound implications on the basic understanding andcontrol of invasive bacterial diseases.

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