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Updated: Jul 5, 2025
Vibrio cholerae: Model Organism to Study Bacterial Pathogenesis - Interview
Published on: May 28, 2007
The intersection between host-pathogen interactions and metabolism during Vibrio cholerae infection
Sedelia R Dominguez1, Phillip N Doan1, Fabian Rivera-Chávez1
1Division of Host-Microbe Systems and Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Molecular Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Insights
Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) causes cholera by producing cholera toxin (CT). Understanding how V. cholerae alters gut metabolism is key to developing new cholera treatments and prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Metabolomics
Background:
- Cholera, caused by Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) and its cholera toxin (CT), remains a major global health threat, particularly impacting children under five.
- Current vaccines have limited efficacy in children, necessitating alternative preventative and therapeutic approaches.
- Recent research highlights the crucial role of host-pathogen metabolic interactions in V. cholerae infections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on host-pathogen interactions during V. cholerae infection.
- To explore how V. cholerae modulates intestinal metabolism during infection.
- To discuss the implications of metabolic modulation for host immunity, gut microbiota, and pathogen transmission.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent advances in V. cholerae research.
- Analysis of studies focusing on host-pathogen metabolism.
- Synthesis of findings on the impact of metabolic changes on host-pathogen dynamics.
Main Results:
- V. cholerae infection significantly alters the host's intestinal metabolic environment.
- These metabolic alterations influence host intestinal immunity and the gut microbiota composition.
- Metabolic modulation by V. cholerae is critical for successful pathogen transmission.
Conclusions:
- A deeper understanding of host-pathogen metabolic interplay is essential for combating cholera.
- Targeting metabolic pathways presents a promising avenue for novel cholera interventions.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the complex interactions driving V. cholerae pathogenesis and transmission.
Abstract:
Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae), the etiological agent of cholera, uses cholera toxin (CT) to cause severe diarrheal disease. Cholera is still a significant cause of mortality worldwide with about half of all cholera cases and deaths occurring in children under five. Owing to the lack of cost-effective vaccination and poor vaccine efficacy in children, there is a need for alternative preventative and therapeutic strategies. Recent advances in our knowledge of the interplay between CT-induced disease and host-pathogen metabolism have opened the door for investigating how modulation of intestinal metabolism by V. cholerae during disease impacts host intestinal immunity, the gut microbiota, and pathogen-phage interactions. In this review article, we examine recent progress in our understanding of host-pathogen interactions during V. cholerae infection and discuss future work deciphering how modulation of gut metabolism during cholera intersects these processes to enable successful fecal-oral transmission of the pathogen.
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