Host metabolic reprogramming during immune activation promotes intracellular bacterial survival

Intracellular pathogens, such as Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S.Tm), are able to sense and respond to a changing host cell environment. Macrophages exposed to microbial products undergo metabolic changes that are increasingly understood to drive a productive inflammatory response. However, the role of macrophage metabolic reprogramming in bacterial adaptation to the intracellular environment has not been explored. Here we show that changes in host metabolic state serve as a signal detected by S.Tm. Using metabolic profiling and dual RNA-seq, we show that succinate accumulates in infected macrophages and is sensed by intracellular S.Tm to promote induction of virulence genes. Succinate uptake by the bacterium drives induction of pmrAB-dependent genes and SPI-2 virulence-associated regulon. S.Tm lacking the DcuB transporter for succinate uptake display impaired intracellular survival. Our work demonstrates that accumulation of metabolic intermediates, necessary for macrophage activation, promote intracellular survival of pathogens, opening a new realm of metabolic host- pathogen crosstalk.