Listeria monocytogenes crosses blood brain barrier through Rho GTPases induced migration of macrophages and inflammatory interleukin expression.

Listeria monocytogenes crossing the blood-brain barrier in the form of "Trojan Horse" is of great significance for the establishment of bacterial encephalitis and meningitis. Induction of cell migration and crossing the blood-brain barrier is very important to understand the Listeria pathogenesis. The Rho GTPases family is considered a key factor in regulating cell migration. This study was designed to investigate the expression of Rho GTPases and their effect on the behavior of cell migration and the stimulation of immune factors. Selective Rho GTPases were investigated by real-time PCR and Western blot. Among these, the expression of RhoA was significantly increased following the infection of Listeria monocytogenes in macrophages. Further, we found that RhoA improves the migration of macrophages and expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. The expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α possibly facilitates the migration and adhesion of macrophages to cross the blood-brain barrier. This study provides preliminary ground to investigate the detailed mechanism of Listeria monocytogenes crossing the blood-brain barrier.