Manipulation of Autophagy by Bacterial Pathogens Impacts Host Immunity

Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process, degrading unnecessary or damaged components in the eukaryotic cell to maintain cellular homeostasis, but it is also an intrinsic cellular defence mechanism to remove invading pathogens. A crosstalk between autophagy and innate or adaptive immune responses has been recently reported, whereby autophagy influences both, innate and adaptive immunity like the production and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines or MHC class II antigen presentation to T cells. Pathogenic bacteria have evolved diverse strategies to manipulate autophagy, mechanisms that also impact host immune responses at different levels. Here we discuss the influence of autophagy on self-autonomous, innate and adaptive immunity and then focus on how bacterial mechanisms that shape autophagy may impact the host immune system.