Publications
Recent Selected Publications (2021-2025)
Alison Criss’s Publications on PubMed
Liyayi IK, Bera AK, Perera YR, Ferdausi N, Noinaj N, Chazin WJ, Cornelissen CN, Criss AK. A periplasmic zinc binding protein aids Neisseria gonorrhoeae assimilation to zinc limitation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 122 (47) e2426176122, 2025. Link to manuscript
Nelson KM, Minahan DJ, Edwards VL, Glomski IJ, Delgado Diaz DD, Thomas KS; Walker FC, Bavoil PM, Derré IM, Criss AK, Ravel J, Gleghorn J. A Microphysiologic Model of the Cervical Epithelium Recapitulates Microbial, Immunologic, and Pathogenic Properties of Sexually Transmitted Infections. bioRxiv: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.21.665989v1.
Matthias KA, Connolly KL, Komova OK, Macintyre AN, Gray MC, Thomas KS, Criss AK, Sikora AE, Jerse AE, Bencomo FR, Derrick JP, Bash MC. Evaluation of Immunization Route in Induction of Anti-Gonococcal Immune Responses in a Murine Model of Ascending Infection. The Journal of Infectious Diseases:jiaf445, 2025. DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaf445. Link to manuscript
Zhu W, Waltmann A, Little MB, Connolly KL, Matthias KA, Thomas KS, Gray MC, Sikora AE, Criss AK, Bash MC, Macintyre AN, Jerse AE, Duncan JA. Protection against N. gonorrhoeae induced by OMV-based meningococcal vaccines are associated with cross-species directed humoral and cellular immune responses. Frontiers in Immunology 16:1539795, 2025. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1539795. Link to manuscript
Criss AK. Rethinking concepts of virulence with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Nature Microbiology 10:608-609, 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41564-025-01946-4. Link to manuscript
Lamb ER, Criss AK. Terminal complement complexes with or without C9 potentiate antimicrobial activity against Neisseria gonorrhoeae. mBio 16:e0014125, 2025. DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00141-25. Link to manuscript
Lamb ER, Glomski IJ, Harper TA, Solga MD, Criss AK. High-dimensional spectral flow cytometry of activation and phagocytosis by peripheral human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Journal of Leukocyte Biology 117:qiaf025, 2025. DOI: 10.1093/jleuko/qiaf025. Link to manuscript
Potter AD, Edwards VL, D’Mello A, Gray MC, Shetty AC, Forehand AL, Westlake CS, Lamb ER, Zhao X, Ragland SA, Criss AK, Tettelin H. Dual species transcriptomics reveals conserved metabolic and immunologic processes in interactions between human neutrophils and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. PLoS Pathogens 20:e1012369, 2024. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012369. Link to manuscript
Gestal MC, Oates AE, Akob DM, Criss AK, Host-Microbe Retreat Planning Committee; Host-Microbe Retreat Speakers. Perspectives on the future of host-microbe biology from the Council on Microbial Sciences of the American Society for Microbiology. mSphere 9:e0025624, 2024. DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00256-24. Link to manuscript
Cardenas AJ, Thomas KS, Broden MW, Ferraro NJ, John CM, Pires MM, Jarvis GA, Criss AK. Neisseria gonorrhoeae scavenges host sialic acid for Siglec-mediated, complement-independent suppression of neutrophil activation. mBio 15:e0011924, 2024. DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.17.576097. Link to manuscript
Geslewitz WE, Cardenas A, Zhou X, Zhang Y, Criss AK, Seifert HS. Development and implementation of a Type I-C CRISPR-based programmable repression system for Neisseria gonorrhoeae. mBio 15:e0302523, 2024. DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03025-23. Link to manuscript
Gray MC, Thomas KS, Lamb ER, Werner LM, Connolly KL, Jerse AE, Criss AK. Evaluating vaccine-elicited antibody activities against Neisseria gonorrhoeae: cross-protective responses elicited by the 4CMenB meningococcal vaccine. Infection and Immunity 91:e0030923, 2023. DOI: 10.1128/iai.00309-23. Link to manuscript
John CM, Phillips NJ, Cardenas AJ, Criss AK, Jarvis GA. Comparison of lipooligosaccharide from human challenge strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Frontiers in Microbiology 14:121594, 2023. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1215946. Link to manuscript
Werner LM, Criss AK. Diverse Functions of C4b-Binding Protein in Health and Disease. Journal of Immunology 211:1443-1449, 2023. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300333. Link to manuscript
Potter AD, Baiocco C, Papin JM, Criss AK. Transcriptome guided metabolic network analysis reveals rearrangements of carbon flux distribution in Neisseria gonorrhoeae during neutrophil co-culture. mSystems 8:e0126522, 2023. DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01265-22. Link to manuscript
Potter AD, Criss AK. Dinner Date: Neisseria gonorrhoeae metabolism and pathogenesis. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences 8:15-28, 2024. doi: 10.1042/ETLS20220111. Link to manuscript
Werner LM, Alcott AM, Mohlin F, Ray JC, Belcher Dufrisne M, Smirnov A, Columbus L, Blom AM, Criss AK. Neisseria gonorrhoeae co-opts C4b-binding protein to enhance complement-independent survival from neutrophils. PLOS Pathogens 19:e1011055, 2023. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011055. Link to manuscript
Liyayi IK, Forehand AL, Ray JC, Criss AK. Metal piracy by Neisseria gonorrhoeae to overcome human nutritional immunity. PLOS Pathogens 19(2):e1011091, 2023. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat. 1011091. Link to manuscript
Crawford MA, Ward AE, Gray V, Bailer P, Fisher DJ, Kubicka E, Cui Z, Luo Q, Gray MC, Criss AK, Lum LG, Tamm LK, Letteri RA, Hughes MA. Disparate regions of the human chemokine CXCL10 exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against biodefense and antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. ACS Infectious Diseases 9:122-139, 2023. DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00456. Link to manuscript
Smirnov A, Daily KP, Gray MC, Werner LM, Ragland SA, Johnson MB, Eby JC, Hewlett EL, Taylor RP, Criss AK. Phagocytosis via complement receptor 3 enables microbes to evade killing by neutrophils. Journal of Leukocyte Biology 114:1-20, 2023. DOI: 10.1093/jleuko/qiad028. Link to manuscript
Alcott AM, Werner LM, Baiocco CM, Belcher Dufrisne M, Columbus L, Criss AK. Variable expression of Opa proteins by Neisseria gonorrhoeae influences bacterial association and phagocytic killing by human neutrophils. Journal of Bacteriology 204(4):e0003522, 2022. DOI: 10.1128/jb.00035-22. Link to manuscript
Ray JC, Smirnov A, Maurakis SA, Harrison SA, Ke E, Chazin WJ, Cornelissen CN, Criss AK. Adherence enables Neisseria gonorrhoeae to overcome zinc limitation imposed by nutritional immunity proteins. Infection and Immunity 90(3):e00009-22, 2022. DOI: 10.1128/iai.00009-22. Link to manuscript
Criss AK, Genco C, Gray-Owen S, Jerse A, Seifert H. Challenges and controversies concerning Neisseria gonorrhoeae-neutrophil interactions in pathogenesis. mBio 12(3):e0072121, 2021. DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00721-21. Link to manuscript
