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To eat or not to eat mitochondria? How do host cells cope with mitophagy upon bacterial infection?

Jérémy Verbeke1, Xavier De Bolle2, Thierry Arnould1

  • 1Research Unit in Cell Biology, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Cell Biology URBC)-Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (NARILIS), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.

Plos Pathogens
|July 6, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Pathogens manipulate host mitophagy, a cellular recycling process, for their survival. This review explores how bacteria exploit mitophagy to evade immune responses and discusses infection outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Cellular Biology
  • Microbiology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Mitochondria are crucial for cellular functions including energy production, inflammation, and cell death.
  • Pathogens target mitochondria to enhance their survival within host cells.
  • The role of mitophagy (mitochondrial degradation) in bacterial infections is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the general mechanisms of mitophagy.
  • To discuss how bacterial pathogens manipulate host mitophagy.
  • To explore the impact of mitophagy on infection outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of mitophagy mechanisms.
  • Analysis of bacterial strategies targeting host mitophagy.
  • Synthesis of current knowledge on pathogen-mitophagy interactions.

Main Results:

  • Mitophagy can be a host defense or a pathogen-exploited mechanism.
  • Bacteria have evolved diverse strategies to manipulate mitophagy.
  • Manipulation of mitophagy influences host inflammation and oxidative stress.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding mitophagy manipulation is key to understanding bacterial pathogenesis.
  • Targeting mitophagy pathways could offer novel therapeutic strategies against bacterial infections.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate pathogen-specific mitophagy interactions.

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