Cited by 239Gut microbiota and healthClostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens researchDrug Transport and Resistance Mechanisms

Infection trains the host for microbiota-enhanced resistance to pathogens

Open access
Stacy, Apollo, Andrade-Oliveira, Vinicius, McCulloch, John A., Hild, Benedikt, Oh, Ji Hoon, Perez-Chaparro, P. Juliana, Sim, Choon K., Lim, Ai Ing +6 more·2021·Cell

Abstract

The microbiota shields the host against infections in a process known as colonization resistance. How infections themselves shape this fundamental process remains largely unknown. Here, we show that gut microbiota from previously infected hosts display enhanced resistance to infection. This long-term functional remodeling is associated with altered bile acid metabolism leading to the expansion of taxa that utilize the sulfonic acid taurine. Notably, supplying exogenous taurine alone is sufficient to induce this alteration in microbiota function and enhance resistance. Mechanistically, taurine potentiates the microbiota's production of sulfide, an inhibitor of cellular respiration, which is key to host invasion by numerous pathogens. As such, pharmaceutical sequestration of sulfide perturbs the microbiota's composition and promotes pathogen invasion. Together, this work reveals a process by which the host, triggered by infection, can deploy taurine as a nutrient to nourish and train the microbiota, promoting its resistance to subsequent infection.

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Authors
Stacy, A., Andrade-Oliveira, V., McCulloch, J. A., Hild, B., Oh, J. H., Perez-Chaparro, P. J., Sim, C. K., Lim, A. I., Link, V. M., Enamorado, M., Trinchieri, G., Segre, J. A., Rehermann, B., & Belkaid, Y.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Corresponding author
  • Stacy, Apollo
  • Belkaid, Yasmine
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-02
Volume
184
Issue
3
Pages
615-627.e17
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3118956265
Cited by
239
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 35
FWCI
13.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Servier
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (1FI2GM128736-01)
  • National Cancer Institute
  • Human Frontier Science Program (LT000191/2018)
  • Cancer Research Institute
  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (HI 2088/1-1)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (1ZIAAI001115-11)
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Human Genome Research Institute (1ZIAHG000180-19)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (1ZIADK054508-22)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Drug Transport and Resistance Mechanisms
Keywords
gut microbiota, colonization resistance, taurine, bile acid metabolism, sulfide, host-pathogen interaction, host defense against infection
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Animals, Bacterial Infections, Immunity, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Sulfides, Taurine, Colony Count, Microbial, Mice, Host-Pathogen Interactions

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