How cells convert cytosol-invading bacteria into anti-bacterial signalling platforms

Our ability to withstand infections relies on the capacity of professional immune cells to defend our body and the skills of individual cells to defend themselves. The contributions of professional immune cells to innate and acquired immunity have received much attention. Much less is known about the principles governing cell-autonomous immunity. We have discovered that human cells deposit cellular proteins such as poly-ubiquitin and guanylate-binding proteins onto the surface of cytosol-invading bacteria, thereby generating poly-valent signalling platforms for the recruitment of further cellular proteins with anti-bacterial functions. We will investigate how cells identify bacterial surfaces as the 'right' place to build such signalling platforms, analyse the machinery involved and the effector proteins recruited. Knowledge from these studies will inform on targets for potential novel therapies.