title: Pathogen control at the intestinal mucosa - H2O2to the rescue.
abstract: Intestinal infections are a global challenge, connected to malnutrition and inadequate hygiene in developing countries, and to expanding antibiotic resistance in developed countries. In general, a healthy host is capable of fighting off gut pathogens or at least to recover from infections quickly. The underlying protective mechanism, termed colonization resistance, is provided by indigenous commensal communities (microbiota) that are shaped and aided by the host's epithelial and innate immune system. Commensal-pathogen interactions are governed by competition for a suitable niche for replication and stable colonization, nutrient availability, species-specific alterations of the metabolic environment, changes in oxygen tension and release of chemicals and proteinaceous toxins (bacteriocins). This protective intestinal milieu is further reinforced by antimicrobial factors and chemicals secreted by the epithelial barrier, by dendritic cell sensing and by homeostasis between T-cell subsets (Treg/Th17) in the lamina propria. The 3 players (host-microbiota-pathogen) communicate via direct interactions or secreted factors. Our recent manuscript illustrates that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are an integral part of colonization resistance and should be considered an interkingdom antivirulence strategy.
authors.affiliation: a Conway Institute, School of Medicine, University College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland.
authors.forename: Ulla G
authors.initials: UG
authors.lastname: Knaus
authors.affiliation: b Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rosanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hertzberger
authors.affiliation: c The Research Institute of the University of Bucharest , Bucharest , Romania.
authors.forename: Gratiela G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Pircalabioru
authors.affiliation: b Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: S Parsa M
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Yousefi
authors.affiliation: b Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Branco Dos Santos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000276:immunology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide
keywords: C. rodentium; LEE pathogenicity island; NADH flavin Reductase; NADPH oxidase; antivirulence; defensive symbiosis; lactobacilli; reactive oxygen species (ROS)