How Salmonella hides and survives inside human gut and immune cells
Decoding host-pathogen crosstalk that drives intracellular niche formation during Salmonella infection
Researchers are comparing how Salmonella lives inside different human gut and immune cells to learn what helps it survive and trigger cell death.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Vermont & St Agric College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Burlington, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11232359 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project looks at Salmonella infections in human intestinal epithelial cells and macrophages to see whether bacteria live inside membrane-bound vacuoles or free in the cell cytosol. Scientists will use fluorescently labeled bacteria, sort infected cells by their bacterial niche with FACS, and read both bacterial and human gene activity from those sorted cells using dual RNA-seq. By comparing the bacterial and host transcripts in the two niches, they hope to identify which genes and pathways let Salmonella survive or cause cell death. Those findings may point to new targets for treatments or prevention of severe Salmonella infections.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would include people with recent non-typhoidal Salmonella infection or volunteers willing to provide blood or tissue samples for research.
Not a fit: Patients with conditions unrelated to Salmonella infection are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this specific research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal new targets to prevent or treat Salmonella by blocking how the bacteria survive inside human cells.
How similar studies have performed: Dual RNA-seq and cell-sorting approaches have helped reveal host-pathogen interactions in other bacterial infections, but applying them to compare cytosolic versus vacuolar Salmonella niches is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Burlington, United States
- University of Vermont & St Agric College — Burlington, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Knodler, Leigh — University of Vermont & St Agric College
- Study coordinator: Knodler, Leigh
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.