Salmonella Typhimurium and inflammation: a pathogen-centric affair

• Published in: Nature reviews. Microbiology Vol. 19; no. 11; pp. 716 - 725
• Main Author: Galán, Jorge E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.11.2021; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/250/254; 631/326/421; 631/326/88; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Coevolution; Development and progression; Epithelium; Homeostasis; Host-bacteria relationships; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Inflammation; Inflammation - microbiology; Inflammation - pathology; Inflammatory response; Intestine; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Parasitology; Pathogens; Physiological aspects; Proteins; Receptors; Regulatory mechanisms (biology); Review Article; Salmonella; Salmonella enterica; Salmonella Infections - microbiology; Salmonella Infections - pathology; Salmonella typhimurium; Salmonella typhimurium - metabolism; Salmonellosis; Virology; United States
• ISSN: 1740-1526; 1740-1534; 1740-1534
• DOI: 10.1038/s41579-021-00561-4

Microbial infections are controlled by host inflammatory responses that are initiated by innate immune receptors after recognition of conserved microbial products. As inflammation can also lead to disease, tissues that are exposed to microbial products such as the intestinal epithelium are subject to stringent regulatory mechanisms to prevent indiscriminate signalling through innate immune receptors. The enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium, which requires intestinal inflammation to sustain its replication in the intestinal tract, uses effector proteins of its type III secretion systems to trigger an inflammatory response without the engagement of innate immune receptors. Furthermore, S . Typhimurium uses a different set of effectors to restrict the inflammatory response to preserve host homeostasis. The S . Typhimurium–host interface is a remarkable example of the unique balance that emerges from the co-evolution of a pathogen and its host. In this Review, Galán discusses the mechanisms by which Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium triggers inflammation in the intestinal tract through the activities of effector proteins as well as the mechanisms that are aimed at recovering host homeostasis after the inflammatory response.