Autophagy is a key tolerance mechanism during Staphylococcus aureus infection

Defense strategies against infectious threats can be divided into resistance and tolerance mechanisms. Resistance mechanisms involve reduction of pathogen burden and include many established examples, one of them being the destruction of intracellular pathogens through autophagy (xenophagy). Tolerance mechanisms protect the host from damage caused by the pathogen or the immune response independent of pathogen load. The role of autophagy in maintaining homeostasis in response to environmental stress suggests that this pathway is involved in tolerance to a variety of infectious agents. However, demonstrating that autophagy promotes tolerance independent of its role in resistance has been a challenge, especially during infection by clinically relevant pathogens. We have found that autophagy protects against Staphylococcus aureus infection by maintaining tolerance toward a pore forming toxin secreted by the bacteria, α-toxin.