Pathogen-Mediated Inhibition of Anorexia Promotes Host Survival and Transmission

Publication date: 26 January 2017
Source:Cell, Volume 168, Issue 3
Author(s): Sheila Rao, Alexandria M. Palaferri Schieber, Carolyn P. O’Connor, Mathias Leblanc, Daniela Michel, Janelle S. Ayres
Sickness-induced anorexia is a conserved behavior induced during infections. Here, we report that an intestinal pathogen, Salmonella Typhimurium, inhibits anorexia by manipulating the gut-brain axis. Inhibition of inflammasome activation by the S. Typhimurium effector, SlrP, prevented anorexia caused by IL-1β-mediated signaling to the hypothalamus via the vagus nerve. Rather than compromising host defenses, pathogen-mediated inhibition of anorexia increased host survival. SlrP-mediated inhibition of anorexia prevented invasion and systemic infection by wild-type S. Typhimurium, reducing virulence while increasing transmission to new hosts, suggesting that there are trade-offs between transmission and virulence. These results clarify the complex and contextual role of anorexia in host-pathogen interactions and suggest that microbes have evolved mechanisms to modulate sickness-induced behaviors to promote health of their host and their transmission at the expense of virulence.

Graphical abstract

Teaser

Pathogens can interfere with the gut-brain circuits that control host anorexia during infection to promote host survival while facilitating disease transmission.


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