SP16 - Pathogénie microbienne

Eating to survive: metabolism, immunity, and microbial pathogenesis

The ability to acquire, sense, and utilize nutrients is fundamental to life, and at the heart of the constant struggle between hosts and microbes. Far from being a passive background process, metabolism actively shapes immune cell function, inflammatory responses, and the strategies used by pathogens to survive and proliferate. In recent years, the field of immunometabolism has revealed that metabolic pathways are tightly integrated with immune signaling, controlling everything from cell fate decisions to antimicrobial defenses. At the same time, pathogenic microorganisms have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to hijack host nutrients, rewire metabolic circuits, and adapt to hostile environments. This metabolic tug-of-war plays a decisive role in infection outcomes, influencing pathogen virulence, immune evasion, and tissue damage. Understanding how metabolism links host immunity and microbial pathogenesis is therefore essential for developing new therapeutic strategies. This session brings together researchers interested in the dynamic interplay between nutrient availability, immune responses, and microbial survival. We will explore how metabolic reprogramming governs immune cell activation, how microbes exploit or manipulate host metabolic resources, and how these interactions shape disease progression.