Linda J KENNEY
Alumni, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
What are podosomes?
What are podosomes? Podosomes are actin-rich, adhesive structures that are present at the ventral surface of cells of the monocytic myeloid lineage, stimulated endothelial cells [1] and cultured Src-transformed cancer cells. These structures are [...]
What are the first steps in invadopodia assembly and disassembly?
What is the first step in invadopodia assembly? Initiation of invadopdia formation is highly complex, being influenced by various signalling cascades and phosphorylation events that occur following detection of a stimulant. For example, activation [...]
How do invadopodia degrade the extracellular matrix?
How do invadopodia degrade the extracellular matrix? The main function attributed to invadopodia is that of extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, facilitated by the secretion of proteases. Maintenance of this process requires the delivery of [...]
What mechanisms drive invadopodia extension?
What mechanisms drive invadopodia extension? Following initiation by an appropriate signal, the actin cytoskeleton is reorganized to facilitate invadopodia formation. Although several kinases and GTPases are known to influence the transduction of extracellular signaling [...]
Linda J Kenney
Alumni
Research Areas
Signal transduction in bacteria; Bacterial Pathogenesis; Mechanotransduction and osmotic signaling in E. coli; Mechanisms of anti-silencing of virulence genes in Salmonella
Research Interests
Our laboratory is interested in signal transduction and the regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes. In particular, we are studying the two-component regulatory system EnvZ/OmpR that regulates the expression of outer membrane proteins as well as many other genes. Our present work focuses on how OmpR activates genes required for systemic infection (located on Salmonella pathogenicity island 2) in Salmonella enterica.
The Kenney Lab’s research was recently featured in an article exploring the bacterial molecular switch between virulence or dormancy, Salmonella Lifestyle Choices. Members of her lab have discovered that the bacterial protein SsrB is the molecular switch for determining whether Salmonella infections become acute and virulent, or remain in a dormant carrier state.
The study is published in eLife (Desai et al., The horizontally-acquired response regulator SsrB drives a Salmonella lifestyle switch by relieving biofilm silencing, February 2, 2016, eLife 2016; 5: e10747, doi: 10.7554/eLife.10747). Read full article.
Biography
Dr Kenney is a Professor of Microbiology at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her laboratory studies two-component systems in bacteria that control gene expression at a single cell and nanometer level.
Professor Linda J Kenney and Professor Michael Sheetz interviewed by the Washington Post at the April 2017 March for Science.
Education
PhD University of Pennsylvania
Recent Publications
- Fernandez M, Yamanaka Y, Zangoui P, White MA, and Kenney LJ. The sulfur assimilation pathway mitigates redox stress from acidic pH in Salmonella Typhi H58. mBio 2025;:e0046725. [PMID: 40422406]
- Shetty D, and Kenney LJ. A pH-sensitive switch activates virulence in Salmonella. Elife 2023; 12. [PMID: 37706506]
- Oh D, Liu X, Sheetz MP, and Kenney LJ. Small, Dynamic Clusters of Tir-Intimin Seed Actin Polymerization. Small 2023;:e2302580. [PMID: 37649226]
- Mon KKZ, Si Z, Chan-Park MB, and Kenney LJ. Polyimidazolium Protects against an Invasive Clinical Isolate of Salmonella Typhimurium. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2022;:e0059722. [PMID: 36094258]
- Jacob H, Geng H, Shetty D, Halow N, Kenney LJ, and Nakano MM. Distinct Interaction Mechanism of RNAP and ResD and Distal Subsites for Transcription Activation of Nitrite Reductase in Bacillus subtilisψ. J Bacteriol 2021;:JB0043221. [PMID: 34898263]
- Singh MK, Zangoui P, Yamanaka Y, and Kenney LJ. Genetic code expansion enables visualization of Salmonella type three secretion system components and secreted effectors. Elife 2021; 10. [PMID: 34061032]
- Kenney LJ, and Anand GS. EnvZ/OmpR Two-Component Signaling: An Archetype System That Can Function Noncanonically. EcoSal Plus 2020; 9(1). [PMID: 32003321]
- Desai SK, and Kenney LJ. Switching Lifestyles Is an in vivo Adaptive Strategy of Bacterial Pathogens. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:421. [PMID: 31921700]
- Desai SK, Padmanabhan A, Harshe S, Zaidel-Bar R, and Kenney LJ. Salmonella biofilms program innate immunity for persistence in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2019;. [PMID: 31160462]
- Ottemann KM, and Kenney LJ. Editorial overview: Host-pathogen interactions: bacteria. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 2019; 47:iii-v. [PMID: 31138403]
Lab Members
Bryant Lee Doss
Alumni, Ladoux Group
Anand Pratap Singh
Alumni, Saunders Group, now a post-doctoral researcher at Princeton University, USA
Christopher Preveen Amourda
Alumni, Saunders Group
Sham Leilah Tlili
Alumni, Saunders Group
Chong Wen Hui Jeronica
Alumni, Saunders Group
Kerh Yun Yi
Alumni, Saunders Group
Huang Anqi
Alumni, Saunders Group
Yin Jianmin
Alumni, Saunders Lab
Zhang Shaobo
Alumni, Saunders Lab
Naila Alieva
Alumni, Bershadsky Group
Tee Yee Han
MBI Fellow, Bershadsky Group
Hu Shiqiong
Alumni, Bershadsky Group
