Summary
The vascular endothelium is the main target of a limited number of infectious agents;
Rickettsia, Ehrlichia ruminantium, and Orientia tsutsugamushi are among them. These arthropod-transmitted obligately-intracellular bacteria cause
serious systemic diseases that are not infrequently lethal. In this review, we discuss
the bacterial biology, vector biology, and clinical aspects of these conditions with
particular emphasis on the interactions of these bacteria with the vascular endothelium
and how it responds to intracellular infection. The study of these bacteria in relevant
in vivo models is likely to offer new insights into the physiology of the endothelium that
have not been revealed by other models.
Keywords
Rickettsia -
Orientia tsutsugamushi
-
Ehrlichia ruminantium
- endothelium - blood circulation