Bliska Laboratory

The long-term aim of research in the Bliska Lab has been to understand how bacterial effectors that are secreted into infected leukocytes promote pathogenesis or elicit host protection. Our current research is focused on bacteria that use type III or type VI secretion systems to deliver effectors into phagocytic leukocytes (monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils).

Of particular interest are effectors that interact with the RhoA-pyrin signaling pathway in phagocytes. Several effectors promote pathogenesis by specifically inactivating RhoA, a small GTPase and regulator of cellular processes such as phagocytosis.

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