New Paper Alert!

I’m excited to share new research from the lab just published in PLOS Pathogens: https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1013132&?utm_id=plos111&utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=author

This study presents an optimized protocol for recovering intracellular mRNA from Salmonella in primary macrophages, its application to time-resolved transcriptomic profiling, and the discovery of the Salmonella phage shock protein (Psp) system as a key mediator of evasion from host antimicrobial peptides.

In this study, we tracked how Salmonella reacts at the genetic level to life inside macrophages, one of our body's innate immune cells, that typically work to kill foreign microbes. We were curious how Salmonella is able to grow inside macrophages and evade the potent chemistry that our body's innate immune system uses to control infection. We found that the Phage Shock Protein (Psp) system is highly induced by Salmonella growing in macrophages and that the Psp system is needed to evade host antimicrobial peptides that our bodies make as a host defense system against bacteria. 

This work was led by PhD student Marie-Ange Massicotte, with major contributions from Research Technician Aline Fiebig and former undergraduate student Andrei Bogza. Their persistence and creativity were key to pushing this project forward. Progress like this depends on the expertise of many people coming together, and I’m proud of how the team pulled together across different stages of the work.