Competitive Cell Death Interactions in Pulmonary Infection: Host Modulation Versus Pathogen Manipulation.

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Microbiology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Host cell death regulation is crucial for managing pulmonary infections, aiming for inflammation control and tissue repair.
• Cell death pathways can be inflammatory or anti-inflammatory, influenced by the regulated cell death (RCD) modality and infection context.
• Bacterial pathogens actively manipulate host cell death to enhance their survival and dissemination within the host.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current research on bacterial pathogen manipulation of host cell death pathways in the lung.
• To highlight the dynamic interplay between host and pathogen in controlling cell death during infection.
• To explore the potential of targeting these cell death interactions for novel therapeutic interventions.

Main Methods:

• This narrative review synthesizes findings from existing literature.
• It focuses on characterizing bacterial manipulation of host cell death pathways in pulmonary infections.
• The review examines both intracellular and extracellular bacterial strategies for RCD modulation.

Main Results:

• Pulmonary infections involve complex host-pathogen interactions centered on cell death modulation.
• Bacterial pathogens exhibit diverse mechanisms to subvert host cell death processes for their benefit.
• Understanding these intricate molecular interactions is key to comprehending infection dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The modulation of host cell death by bacterial pathogens is a significant factor in virulence and disease progression.
• Elucidating the mechanisms of bacterial manipulation of regulated cell death (RCD) is essential.
• Targeting these host-pathogen cell death interactions may yield novel treatments for challenging respiratory infections.