The Microbe, the Infection Enigma, and the Host - Archive ouverte HAL
Article Dans Une Revue (Article De Synthèse) Annual Review of Microbiology Année : 2024

The Microbe, the Infection Enigma, and the Host

Résumé

Human infectious diseases are unique in that the discovery of their environmental trigger, the microbe, was sufficient to drive the development of extraordinarily effective principles and tools for their prevention or cure. This unique medical prowess has outpaced, and perhaps even hindered, the development of scientific progress of equal magnitude in the biological understanding of infectious diseases. Indeed, the hope kindled by the germ theory of disease was rapidly subdued by the infection enigma, in need of a host solution, when it was realized that most individuals infected with most infectious agents continue to do well. The root causes of disease and death in the unhappy few remained unclear. While canonical approaches in vitro (cellular microbiology), in vivo (animal models), and in natura (clinical studies) analyzed the consequences of infection with a microbe, considered to be the cause of disease, in cells, tissues, or organisms seen as a uniform host, alternative approaches searched for preexisting causes of disease, particularly human genetic and immunological determinants in populations of diverse individuals infected with a trigger microbe.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
annurev-micro-092123-022855.pdf (625.06 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte

Dates et versions

hal-04816179 , version 1 (03-12-2024)

Licence

Identifiants

Citer

Jean-Laurent Casanova, Laurent Abel. The Microbe, the Infection Enigma, and the Host. Annual Review of Microbiology, 2024, 78 (1), pp.103-124. ⟨10.1146/annurev-micro-092123-022855⟩. ⟨hal-04816179⟩
0 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

More