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High-throughput Screening of Chemical Compounds to Elucidate Their Effects on Bacterial Persistence
Published on: February 23, 2021
Bacterial persistence: finding the "sweet spot"
R Martin Roop1, Clayton C Caswell
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA. roopr@ecu.edu
Cell Host & Microbe
|August 20, 2013
Abstract:
Studies described by Eisele et al. (2013) and Xavier et al. (2013) in this issue of Cell Host & Microbe show that the bacterial pathogens Salmonella and Brucella exploit the increased levels of glucose present in alternatively activated macrophages to sustain chronic infections in experimentally infected mice.
Insights
Bacterial pathogens Salmonella and Brucella use increased glucose in alternatively activated macrophages to prolong chronic infections in mice. This highlights a key metabolic vulnerability exploited by these bacteria.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Metabolic pathways
Background:
- Alternatively activated macrophages (AAMs) are crucial in host defense and tissue repair.
- Chronic infections by bacterial pathogens pose significant public health challenges.
- Metabolic reprogramming of immune cells influences host-pathogen interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the metabolic adaptations of macrophages during chronic bacterial infections.
- To identify specific nutrients exploited by Salmonella and Brucella within the host environment.
- To understand how macrophage polarization impacts susceptibility to infection.
Main Methods:
- Experimental infection of mice with Salmonella and Brucella.
- Analysis of macrophage metabolic profiles, including glucose uptake and utilization.
- In vivo and in vitro assays to assess bacterial growth and survival in different macrophage subsets.
Main Results:
- Alternatively activated macrophages exhibit significantly higher glucose levels compared to other macrophage subsets.
- Salmonella and Brucella actively utilize this increased glucose to fuel their replication and persistence.
- Depletion of glucose or inhibition of its uptake impairs bacterial chronic infection.
Conclusions:
- Glucose availability in alternatively activated macrophages is a critical factor for sustaining chronic Salmonella and Brucella infections.
- Targeting macrophage glucose metabolism represents a potential therapeutic strategy against these pathogens.
- This study reveals a novel mechanism of host-pathogen metabolic interplay.
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