title: Bacterial Reductionism: Host Thiols Enhance Virulence.
abstract: Intracellular bacteria exploit host cytosolic signals to upregulate virulence genes. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Wong et al. (2015) show that Burkholderia pseudomallei senses host cytosolic glutathione, a low-molecular-weight thiol, through the membrane-bound histidine sensor kinase VirA, highlighting the importance of inter-kingdom signaling in bacterial pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Microbiology and Biochemistry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9048, USA. Electronic address: vanessa.sperandio@utsouthwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sperandio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016957:Burkholderia pseudomallei / Q000502:physiology*; D003600:Cytosol / Q000737:chemistry*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000069376:Type VI Secretion Systems
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D000069376:Type VI Secretion Systems; D011494:Protein Kinases; D005978:Glutathione