Pathogenic Neisseria meningitidis utilizes CD147 for vascular colonization

Neisseria meningitidisis the causative agent of potentially fatal meningitis and septic shock, induced by bacterial colonization of blood vesselsin the brain and the periphery. The endothelial cell receptor mediating meningococcal adhesion to blood vesselshas previously been unknown. Here Sandrine Bourdoulous and colleagues report that CD147 expressed on human endothelial cells is a crucial mediator of N. meningitidisvascular colonization, providing new insight into some of the mechanisms that give rise to meningococcal disease.