| Listeriosis Knowledge-Base Core | Current knowledge | Ontology suggestions | Evidence type | Source year / DOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disease identity and etiology | Rare, potentially severe foodborne zoonosis caused primarily by the Gram-positive, facultatively intracellular bacterium *Listeria monocytogenes*, usually after ingestion of contaminated food. Principal invasive presentations are bacteremia or septicemia, meningitis or meningoencephalitis, and maternal–fetal or neonatal infection. | MONDO: MONDO:0005828; NCBI Taxon: 1639 | Authoritative review | 2023; [10.1128/cmr.00060-19](https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00060-19) (pqac-00000008) |
| Principal phenotypes | Among invasive cases, pregnancy-associated or neonatal infection accounts for approximately 14%, bacteremia or septicemia 52%, and CNS infection 31%; uncommon focal sites generally account for less than 1% each. | HPO: Fever HP:0001945; Meningitis HP:0001287; Encephalitis HP:0002383; Sepsis HP:0100806; Miscarriage HP:0005268 | Aggregated review evidence | 2023; [10.1128/cmr.00060-19](https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00060-19) (pqac-00000008) |
| Recent phenotype frequencies | In a 2024 cohort of 71 confirmed cases, non-neonatal manifestations included fever 88%, headache 32%, altered consciousness 25%, vomiting 17%, abdominal pain 12%, and convulsions 8%. Among neonates, fetal distress occurred in 75% and prematurity in 50%. | HPO: Headache HP:0002315; Altered consciousness HP:0004372; Vomiting HP:0002013; Abdominal pain HP:0002027; Seizure HP:0001250; Premature birth HP:0001622 | Human retrospective cohort, 2011–2023 | 2024; [10.1007/s40121-024-00986-3](https://doi.org/10.1007/s40121-024-00986-3) (pqac-00000000) |
| Major risk groups | Highest-risk groups are pregnant people and fetuses or neonates, older adults, and people with impaired cell-mediated immunity or major chronic disease. Pregnancy is reported to increase susceptibility about 17-fold; gestational suppression of Th1 and IFN-gamma responses impairs intracellular clearance. | HPO: Immunodeficiency HP:0002721; GO: response to bacterium GO:0009617; interferon-gamma-mediated signaling GO:0060333; CL: macrophage CL:0000235; T cell CL:0000084 | Human and mechanistic review evidence | 2024; [10.3390/microorganisms12102102](https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12102102) (pqac-00000004) |
| Host Mendelian genetics | No Mendelian host gene or pathogenic germline variant is established as the cause of listeriosis. OMIM-style causal-gene, inheritance, penetrance, carrier-frequency, chromosomal-abnormality, and somatic-variant fields are not applicable. Routine human genetic testing is not indicated. | Mendelian causal-gene and ClinVar-variant fields: not applicable | Evidence-gap assessment; susceptibility research is ongoing | Clinical studies include NCT03357536 and NCT02924220; no validated causal variant established |
| Virulence chain: regulation and entry | Host temperature and intracellular glutathione activate PrfA, inducing bacterial virulence genes. Bile resistance supports intestinal survival. InlA–E-cadherin and InlB–MET interactions lead to epithelial adhesion and internalization. | GO: pathogenesis GO:0009405; entry into host cell GO:0030260; CL: intestinal epithelial cell CL:0002563; UBERON: intestine UBERON:0000160; CHEBI: glutathione CHEBI:16856 | Mechanistic review integrating in-vitro and animal evidence | 2023–2024; [10.1128/cmr.00060-19](https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00060-19) (pqac-00000002, pqac-00000010) |
| Virulence chain: intracellular spread | Internalization leads to phagosomal residence; listeriolysin O and phospholipases disrupt the vacuole, resulting in cytosolic escape. Cytosolic replication and ActA-mediated actin polymerization lead to intracellular motility and direct cell-to-cell spread. | GO: escape from host phagosome GO:0046710; actin-filament polymerization GO:0030041; GO-CC: phagocytic vesicle GO:0045335; cytosol GO:0005829; CL: macrophage CL:0000235 | Predominantly in-vitro and model-organism evidence | 2024; [10.3390/microorganisms12102102](https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12102102) (pqac-00000002, pqac-00000003) |
| Barrier and organ disease | Dissemination produces bacteremia and seeding of liver and spleen. Placental invasion may cause fetal infection, miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, or neonatal sepsis; CNS invasion may cause meningitis, meningoencephalitis, rhombencephalitis, or abscess. LIPI-4 in hypervirulent CC4 is associated with maternofetal and neuromeningeal disease, although its mechanism remains unresolved. | UBERON: liver UBERON:0002107; spleen UBERON:0002106; placenta UBERON:0001987; brain UBERON:0000955; meninges UBERON:0000363; CL: trophoblast cell CL:0000351; neuron CL:0000540 | Human association plus model-derived mechanism | 2023–2024; [10.1128/cmr.00060-19](https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00060-19), [10.3390/microorganisms12102102](https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12102102) (pqac-00000004, pqac-00000010) |
| Diagnostics | Definitive diagnosis relies primarily on blood or CSF culture; growth may take about 36 hours. In pregnancy, placental culture was reported as more sensitive than maternal blood culture, 80% versus 55%, and placental-biopsy sensitivity was reported as 100%. WGS and wgMLST support outbreak surveillance rather than host diagnosis. | NCIT: Blood Culture C92225; Lumbar Puncture C15327; Whole Genome Sequencing C101295; UBERON: blood UBERON:0000178; cerebrospinal fluid UBERON:0001359; placenta UBERON:0001987 | Clinical review and surveillance evidence | 2023–2024; [10.1128/cmr.00060-19](https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00060-19), [10.3390/microorganisms12102102](https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12102102) (pqac-00000001, pqac-00000004, pqac-00000010) |
| First-line therapy | First-line treatment is high-dose intravenous ampicillin or amoxicillin, often with short-course gentamicin for severe invasive disease. Adult neurolisteriosis generally requires 12 g/day aminopenicillin for at least 21 days; brain abscess or rhombencephalitis requires at least six weeks with imaging follow-up. Co-trimoxazole is a major beta-lactam-allergy alternative. | CHEBI: ampicillin CHEBI:28971; amoxicillin CHEBI:2676; gentamicin CHEBI:27412; trimethoprim CHEBI:45924; sulfamethoxazole CHEBI:9332; NCIT: Antibiotic Therapy C15614 | Expert review and guideline synthesis; randomized trials lacking | 2023; [10.1128/cmr.00060-19](https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00060-19) (pqac-00000014) |
| Prognosis | A 2024 cohort found fatality of 42% in neonates, 17% in non-neonates, 36% in neurolisteriosis, and 12% in bacteremic disease. CNS involvement, hyperbilirubinemia, and hyponatremia predicted fatality. A separate 63-adult cohort reported 27% in-hospital mortality, ICU admission in 44.4%, residual neurologic deficits in 23.9% of survivors, and brain abscess in 13.0%. | HPO: Neurological deficit HP:0011446; Brain abscess HP:0030049; Hyponatremia HP:0002902; Hyperbilirubinemia HP:0002904; NCIT: Intensive Care C53511 | Human retrospective cohorts | 2024; [10.1007/s40121-024-00986-3](https://doi.org/10.1007/s40121-024-00986-3), [10.1186/s12866-024-03478-z](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-024-03478-z) (pqac-00000000) |
| Prevention | No licensed human vaccine or routine asymptomatic screening exists. Prevention includes pasteurization, adequate cooking, reheating or avoiding deli meats and hot dogs, avoiding unpasteurized dairy and high-risk soft cheeses, washing produce, preventing cross-contamination, environmental sanitation, and food-chain WGS surveillance. High-pressure processing at 100–600 MPa can reduce contamination, although surviving cells may recover. | NCIT: Food Safety C17577; Patient Education C16960; Whole Genome Sequencing C101295 | Public-health, surveillance, and food-processing evidence | 2023–2024; [10.1128/cmr.00060-19](https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00060-19), [10.3390/foods13010014](https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13010014) (pqac-00000003, pqac-00000004, pqac-00000010) |
| Veterinary relevance | Natural disease principally affects cattle, sheep, and goats, producing encephalitis or meningoencephalitis, septicemia, abortion, and neonatal loss. Abortions typically occur during the final third of gestation and may affect up to 20% of animals. Ruminants act as reservoirs that contaminate food and farm environments. | NCBI Taxon: cattle 9913; sheep 9940; goat 9925 | Veterinary review and field evidence | 2024; [10.3390/microorganisms12102055](https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12102055) (pqac-00000005, pqac-00000015) |
| Models and functional genomics | Mouse, humanized E-cadherin mouse, gerbil, zebrafish, cultured epithelial and macrophage systems, placental explants, brain slices, and organoids model intracellular infection and barrier crossing. Standard mice incompletely model oral InlA-mediated entry because murine E-cadherin is poorly recognized. A 2024 RECON/Akr1c13-disrupted mouse Tn-seq study identified 135 bacterial fitness genes; deletion of *folD* reduced liver growth by 2.5 log10, while deletion of *alsR* caused 4-log10 liver and 3-log10 spleen attenuation. | CL: macrophage CL:0000235; fibroblast CL:0000057; intestinal epithelial cell CL:0002563; trophoblast cell CL:0000351; UBERON: liver UBERON:0002107; spleen UBERON:0002106 | Animal, ex-vivo, in-vitro, and genome-wide Tn-seq evidence | 2020–2024; [10.1111/cmi.13186](https://doi.org/10.1111/cmi.13186), [10.1128/mbio.01332-24](https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01332-24) |


*Table: A concise evidence table summarizing listeriosis identity, phenotypes, risks, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, prevention, and comparative biology. It integrates current ontology suggestions with recent human, mechanistic, veterinary, and model-system evidence.*