Project description:The potential for commensal microorganisms indigenous to a host (the microbiome or microbiota) to alter infection outcome by influencing host-pathogen interplay is largely unknown. We used a multi-omics systems approach, incorporating proteomics, metabolomics, glycomics, and metagenomics, to explore the molecular interplay between the murine host, the pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), and commensal gut microorganisms during intestinal infection with S. Typhimurium. We find proteomic evidence that S. Typhimurium thrives within the infected 129/SvJ mouse gut without antibiotic pre-treatment, inducing inflammation and disrupting the intestinal microbiome (e.g., suppressing Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes while promoting growth of Salmonella and Enterococcus). Alteration of the host microbiome population structure was highly correlated with gut environmental changes, including the accumulation of metabolites normally consumed by commensal microbiota. Finally, the less characterized phase of S. Typhimurium's lifecycle was investigated, and both proteomic and glycomic evidence suggests S. Typhimurium may take advantage of increased fucose moieties to metabolize fucose while growing in the gut. The application of multiple omics measurements to Salmonella-induced intestinal inflammation provides insights into complex molecular strategies employed during pathogenesis between host, pathogen, and the microbiome.
Project description:Here, we introduce an intestinal tissue model to study human enteric infections. Our model comprises epithelial and endothelial layers, a primary intestinal collagen scaffold, and immune cells. We use Dual RNA-seq to chart the communication amongst several different cell types at the intestinal barrier and the pathogen. The results suggest that Salmonella uses its type III secretion systems to manipulate STAT3-dependent inflammatory responses locally in the epithelial compartment. Our approach promises to reveal more human-specific infection strategies employed by Salmonella and other pathogens.