Host Innate Immune Responses toAcinetobacter baumanniiInfection

Acinetobacter baumanniihas emerged as a major threat to global public health and is one of the key human pathogens in healthcare (nosocomial and community-acquired)-associated infections. Moreover,A. baumanniirapidly develops resistance to multiple antibiotics and is now globally regarded as a serious multidrug resistant pathogen. There is an urgent need to develop novel vaccines and immunotherapeutics as alternatives to antibiotics for clinical management ofA. baumanniiinfection. However, our knowledge of host immune responses toA. baumanniiinfection and the identification of novel therapeutic targets are significantly lacking. This review highlights the recent advances and critical gaps in our understanding howA. baumanniiinteracts with the host innate pattern-recognition receptors, induces a cascade of inflammatory cytokine and chemokine responses, and recruits innate immune effectors (such as neutrophils and macrophages) to the site of infection for effective control of the infection. Such knowledge will facilitate the identification of new targets for the design and development of effective therapeutics and vaccines to fight this emerging threat.